Utopia
by Final Hikari
Summary: The true fate Faize met after a pained goodbye at Nox Obscurus becomes increasingly unclear. Edge, captain of nothing but a ruin, has no chance of searching. But when Lymle, quickly growing older and closer to a memory, encounters Arumat, can that change?
1. Prologue

Final Hikari: -deep breath- -shifty eyes- Haha, hello there, my wonderful editor, Dr. Meh!

Dr. Meh: …You're up to something.

-Faize & Lymle wait, eavesdropping, in another room to enter-

Lymle: She's in trouble, 'kay?

Faize: She certainly is…

-back in the computer room-

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- Well, I got Faize's secret epilogue and the following morning I just kinda had my notebook during school…and…um…I just started writing! I was so obsessed with The Last Hope, Faize, and the secret epilogue I didn't get on my first guidebook-less play through, that when I finally saw the _real _ending, I just couldn't help it!

Dr. Meh: -pointed look- The same way you "just started writing" your five hundred paged projects like All That's Left Behind and Flights of Fantasy?

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- Um, funny you mentioned those!

Dr. Meh: What's the project number on this one? -taps foot- Six? Seven?

Final Hikari: -shifty eyes- I'll count while you watch Faize's secret epilogue on YouTube! Certainly would have saved _me_ a lot of angst if this was posted sooner…

Dr. Meh: -is watching-

Final Hikari: -counting- Let's see…Xenosaga IV: Der Wille zur Existieren, Valkyrie's Favor, All That's Left Behind, Popularity's Down, Tomato Cake, a kiriban, Remember My----

Dr. Meh: -about a minute into the video- Awww! What an adorable little girl!

-In the other room-

Lymle: -sticks tongue out at Faize- She's talking about me! Unless she's actually talking about you…which wouldn't be too far off the mark, kay?

Faize: -.- Who taught you to be do rude to your elders? And it isn't my fault Earthlings judge me by my ears.

Lymle: She's judging you by a lot more than those giant ears, 'kay?

-back in computer room-

Final Hikari: XD Well, at least you approve of my protagonists…and hopefully won't mind being bothered with editing another story of mine atop a stringent school schedule…

Dr. Meh: Mmm, you're on your own for a few chapters though. What's her name?

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- Damn finals. But it's Lymle. Lymle Lemuri Phi.

Dr. Meh: -nods-What's her relationship with Faize? I really doubt he's her grandfather.

Final Hikari: -mother of all anime crashes- He's only _18!_ Of course not! And that's her grandfather's _grave. _-.-

Dr. Meh: How was I supposed to know that? I've only seen the pictures and videos you've sent me. Like Reimi shooting at the protagonist. Though I could have done _so_ much better with that scene…

Final Hikari: I know, but I've already told you his age n' stuff…

Dr. Meh: Well, what's their relationship?

Final Hikari: Well, they bicker a lot and Lymle likes to play tricks on him. They're not that far apart in age but since Lymle, physically and mentally, is only six, her excellent symbology surprises him, and she doesn't like him for doubting her skill. There was a scene that lead to an accidental kiss that was hilarious. XD Okay! -opens door- Faize, Lymle, Arumat! Someone do the disclaimer!

Dr. Meh: -perks up- You didn't mention Arumat was around.

Final Hikari: XD Well, he won't be the focus of the story, especially in the later parts, but if someone like me who hated him for replacing Faize grew to like him _too _quickly, I'm sure his presence will draw some fans in. So! Arumat! Do the disclaimer.

Arumat: …

Final Hikari: Ahem. This is the author speaking.

Arumat: …

Final Hikari: -.- C'mon. Do the damn disclaimer.

Arumat: I'm taking commands from teenagers _why?_

Final Hikari: -grumbles- Because an author outranks a battleship captain! Now just say the disclaimer so the chapter can start!

Arumat: Outranking a captain? On what planet?

Dr. Meh: -smiles dangerously- Actually, plenty of things outrank a battleship captain.

Arumat: -trademark glare- Like what?

Dr. Meh: -sarcastic- Oh, I don't know, try an uneducated hobo, maybe?

Arumat: -not familiar with Earthling slang- What is a 'hobo'?

Dr. Meh: -pats- The answer is in the mirror, my _fiiiine_ friend.

Arumat: O.O -edges away-

Final Hikari: -bangs head- Meh, stop simultaneously insulting and hitting on my characters! I'm trying to start a story here!

Dr. Meh: -epitome on innocence- There's a fine line between love and hate--- -Faize and Lymle enter room- Awww! –is distracted- What an adorable little girl!

Lymle: -is scared-

Faize: -looks mildly relieved as Dr. Meh begins to fuss over Lymle and not him-

Arumat: …'Hitting on'?

Final Hikari: -face palm- Oh, for the love of--- Faize! You do the disclaimer!

Faize: Certainly. The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Final Hikari: -slumps in chair- And, now, for the chapter! I hope no one clicked this and saw this insanely long disclaimer and thought that was just the story…O.O And if you haven't finished the game and don't want the ending thoroughly spoiled, you should probably wait until later to read, I'm afraid…

Utopia

Prologue

Heart Wrenching With Sorrow

A column of light erupted from the haunting yet angelic being that was Satanail as the final slash from Edge Maverick's blade it could endure made contact. The blinding light filled the area and the young fighter instantly stepped back, shielding his eyes with his left arm. Arumat who also stood at the front line backed away, expression impassive.

Reimi didn't lower her bow immediately, but her arms trembled violently, making it obvious she wouldn't loose another arrow. Lymle gladly released her wand, unable to cast another symbol or summon Cerberus another time no matter what the condition was. Using symbology when in her heart, she couldn't fight the adversary they'd been thrust into a state of opposition with pained her as much as it injured the one they fought.

There was another flash of light as a sudden, tornadic wind swirled around the being. Edge took another step back, watching with the others as the Grigori that formed Satanail separated with its victim host. Lymle's eyes widened and she took a step forward as a human silhouette appeared within the light and an agonized scream echoed, somehow reverberating despite the abyss like area.

Reimi finally lowered her bow and placed a hand on Lymle's shoulder. Lymle glanced up at her, surprised, but the older girl just closed her eyes and shook her head somberly. Lymle frowned and turned her gaze to the ground sorrowfully.

Edge apparently had a similar idea and with a tense, determined, though afraid expression he jumped forward and reached out through the whirlwind and into the light toward his friend. He winced as soon as his hand came in contact with the light and was quickly pulled back by Arumat, who effortlessly grabbed his shoulder and dragged him several feet back.

The body of Satanail began to dissolve as the Grigori returned to its original, pre-transformed state. First its many angelic wings evaporated into mist, followed shortly by the rest of the massive creature. Its host still stood, expression distorted in pain, until the Grigori finally shattered. As soon as it did the light and the heartless wind disappeared and the area was once again dark.

Faize Sheifa Beleth, eyes closed, stumbled backward before falling and hitting the stone floor with a sickening thud. Edge was the first to move, tossing his sword away and running to his friend's side. The sound of the blade clattering to the floor was the only thing that broke the sudden silence. Lymle watched numbly, rooted to the spot. She couldn't move even after Reimi gently released her.

_Why…? Why did this happen? Y-you were supposed to have been killed…hearing that was far less excruciating than __**this**__._

Faize's eyes opened and he stared upward as Edge slowed down. "It seems…," he said quietly, "that I lose… I knew…you were strong, Edge."

Lymle took a hesitant step forward but stopped; unlike usual, her expression betrayed her true feelings. She swallowed with great difficulty, and blinked back the tears gathering in her eyes. She wiped her sleeve over her eyes, willing herself not to start crying so unexpectedly.

Edge closed his eyes and shook his head, speaking with a pained voice. "It was really close… You were strong, too…"

There was another moment of silence before Faize laughed weakly. "It's nice…to hear that…," he paused, breathing shallow, "Because all… Because all I ever wanted…"

Edge knelt down, appearance grim as he said the young Eldarian's name. Lymle walked away from the others slowly to stand at Faize's other side. Edge glanced up, looking a little surprised to see the young girl. Faize, more slowly, also turned his head to look at her.

"Lymle…," Edge trailed off.

"…What's wrong, Lymle? That look doesn't suit you very well."

Lymle returned his gaze evenly, feeling her heart wrench. "…You dummy, Faize. You're just a big, hopeless dummy…"

He was silent, her cold though childish comment foreseeable. "…Yes, I think so too. Though it's a little vexing to find myself agreeing with you."

Lymle paused for a long moment before speaking; even so, her voice was unsteady when she did. "I…lied to you, 'kay…?"

"Lymle?" Faize questioned as tears began to gather in her eyes.

She turned away, unable to continue looking into his eyes. "The truth…the truth is…your cloak…kinda…kinda…," she repeated timidly, voice cracking as the tears threatened to overflow, "did look okay on you… But only…kinda…"

Faize watched, unable to do anything, as her small shoulders trembled and she cried. Edge also remained silent, quickly deciding not to interrupt. She had tried to stop him from leaving her group all that time ago back on Aeos, and she was the first one to recognize him there on Nox Obscurus. Seeing as he'd stopped counting when the insults regarding his cloak reached over a dozen, he decided to give her the only applicable response.

"Thank you, Lymle…," he paused as she turned to face him. "It makes me…kind of happy…to hear you say that…"

A small, pained smile crossed his expression. The grave feeling it'd be a sight she wouldn't be able to forget hardly had time to set in before a tremendous quake in the ground beneath them caused the floor the lurch violently. Most of the group stumbled but quickly regained their balance.

Meracle meowed, voice suddenly panicked as she glanced around frantically to see what was happening. "What's going on?"

"It would seem that Nox Obscurus has begun to collapse," Bacchus reasoned, "I would assume because the energy supply cannot be maintained now that Mr. Faize has been defeated. Or to be more accurate, now that the Grigori that merged with him has been destroyed."

"That makes sense," Myuria agreed, "In other words, Nox Obscurus doesn't have enough energy left to hold itself together any longer."

"I believe that analysis is correct, Mrs. Myuria," Bacchus affirmed.

"I imagine the analysis can probably wait," Arumat interjected sarcastically.

Meracle look up at him and glared. "You're wasting time too, Arumat!"

"We have to go!" Myuria said as she and the others started toward the door to depart.

Reimi, on the other hand, didn't move. She stood unmoving, watching her childhood friend. Both he and Lymle still waited by Faize's side, in no hurry to leave. Myuria glanced back at her, expression slightly intolerant.

"…Edge!" Reimi yelled, as her wrist was grabbed by Myuria.

"Hurry!" the older woman demanded as she began to pull her along.

The floor continued to shake and cracks were starting to form on the far sides of the massive stone platform. The rate of the tiny lights falling like rain seemed to accelerate as the others hurry down the pathway to the freestanding door back into the Palace of Creation.

"Come on," Edge said, "Let's go home."

"Edge…?" Faize questioned as he reached down to help him up, pulling his arm over his shoulder.

Lymle blinked back tears and wiped her sleeve over her face a second time to dry her eyes. Faize struggled to stand, even leaning heavily against the taller Earthling. They both looked exhausted, though like any loser, Faize was in far worse condition. She looked up to the both of them, reluctant to leave.

Edge looked over to her, expression confident and composed once again. "You go ahead, Lymle."

She felt a pang of fear fill her mind as she stared up at him. "Edgie…but…," she objected, eyes settling on Faize then not moving.

He returned her gaze evenly and nodded reassuringly to her. His expression was blank, seemingly doubtless. She cast them one final sad look before hurrying off in pursuit of the others. _It's okay…they'll both be coming back. They'll catch up with us, we'll get out of here, and we really will all be together again. Just like before Mattie showed up… They'll come back. They have to…_

She closed her eyes tightly, trying to make herself believe; and to hold more tears back. She ran as quickly as she could, determined not to look back. A crack formed in the stone beneath her feet as she hurried toward the door and broke apart in an instant. She felt her heart skip a beat when she began to fall, gasping before a strong mechanical hand grabbed on to the back of her dress and pulled her back over solid ground.

She looked up in surprise and relief as Bacchus lifted her up and placed her on his large, robotic arm. She blinked as a thought occurred to her, this one irrelevant to her own safety. She turned looked over her shoulder then across the chasm that divided them. Faize and Edge stood hardly an inch from the rim of the abyss.

"Mr. Edge!" Bacchus called, expression and voice serious as ever.

"We'll be fine!" Edge shouted back, "Take care of Lymle!"

"But…!" the cyborg objected concernedly.

"Just do it!" Edge commanded, taking a step away from the rift.

Bacchus turned away and took a step toward the others, though Lymle didn't take her eyes off them. He stopped momentarily and glanced back at them one final time. "I believe in you, Mr. Edge."

Edge and Faize continued the progress to the portion of platform that was still intact, though it was slow between Faize's condition and Edge's increasing breathlessness. Bacchus' quick pace made hearing their conversation all but impossible, but one comment reached her ears.

"Edge… Tell me… Where did I go wrong…?" Faize questioned, pausing for a long moment. He continued, but she couldn't discern what he said.

Her gaze dropped to the floor as they caught up with the others. "Baccie, put me down," Lymle requested quietly.

"Are you sure? Will you be able to keep up?"

"I'll be fine," she replied as he stopped and lowered his arm, allowing her to hop off.

_Where…did he go wrong? What could he possibly have done to deserve __**this**__? _She wondered, contemplating the question as she hurried to keep up with the others. She found herself becoming winded as well, but didn't slow down. _When did this start? When did things start going bad?_

_…Alternate Earth._

_That other version of Edgie and Reirei's home…then we had to go to Sarrie and Merry's planet. And he met that girl who gave him that stupid cloak. But her and that entire family were sacrificed right before we saved Sarrie. He and Edgie argued about leaving for the Purgatorium before morning. If Edgie wasn't afraid to make another mistake like what happened on the other Earth…she wouldn't have died._

_Would this still…have happened? He wasn't himself after that…but he never said anything! Why did he tell us? I knew something was wrong, but…_

The floor below them gave another violent tremor before a tremendous amount of the bridge in front of them collapsed. Arumat stopped short, but Meracle's reaction was slower and she leaned dangerously over the edge. His scythe slipped from his hand when he pushed the young half-cat back onto the platform. It plummeted into the abyss, blade glinting when it spun before disappearing. Nevertheless, one large door remained stationary, levitating in the air with no apparent support.

It was the door that lead back into the Palace of Creation; their only exit was cut. Lymle whipped around, scanning the area for Faize and Edge. She caught sight of them but held her breath as she watched the ground fall out beneath Faize's feet. Edge, who was still on solid ground, stumbled as the young Eldarian's hand slipped from his grip.

"No…," she whispered, though it was unheard by all.

Faize went to push Edge away as he began to fall, so they both didn't plummet to almost certain doom. Edge jerked forward, grabbing Faize's wrist and landing on his knees painfully. He winced upon impact, feeling his tired muscles strain to hang on to his friend's weight.

"What should we do?" Sarah questioned, looking around frantically.

"Look!" Meracle exclaimed, pointing to the far corner of the area as a green, circular glow appeared.

The glow intensified as symbols on the ground and the form of a single person appeared. The person who materialized it, Giotto of the Morphus, waited patiently for them inside. He was turned away from them and looked up, taking the situation in quickly.

"It's a transfer symbol," Myuria added.

"Run," Arumat commanded, hanging back to push the others along.

Both Reimi and Lymle hesitated as another hellacious crash sounded. More of the doors, connecting bridges, and seemingly endless stone paths broke apart. Bacchus quickly lifted her up and followed the others in the direction of the symbological circle.

"Wait!" Myuria said, "I thought we couldn't use transfer symbols where?"

"I imagine we're able to use them because the connection between Nox Obscures and the Missing Procedure has been severed," Giotto explained.

Reimi turned around and gasped, also summoning Lymle's attention. Edge hung precariously over the ledge, struggling not to fall. Her eyes widened with terror and she began to run from the symbol's perimeter. It was only a few steps out of the transfer circle when the ground collapsed beneath her feet. The Featherfolk in their group was the first to react and ran after her.

Reimi squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she began to fall, but was almost instantly caught. She reopened her eyes slowly when she felt herself levitating with arms around her waist. She looked over her shoulder to see Sarah, struggling to remain airborne, with her wings flapping violently.

"Let me go!" she exclaimed and started to struggle against the Featherfolk's hold. "Edge…Edge is still back there!"

"No, there's no way I could let go of you now!" Sarah said breathlessly as they gained height.

"Over here! Just a little more!" Meracle urged as Sarah neared the edge.

"Come on, come on," Myuria said impatiently as they landed.

As soon as Reimi's feet hit the ground, her right arm was grabbed by Myuria. Arumat reached out to grab her left but she broke free of Myuria's grip before he had the chance. She whipped around, screaming Edge's name. She tried to run forward again but was quickly restrained by Arumat and Myuria.

"No!" Myuria objected, grabbing her arm with both hands. "Reimi, stop! Calm down!"

Bacchus placed Lymle down gently for the second time within the transfer circle's glow. She ran over to Giotto and grabbed his hand, shaking it frantically. "Faize and Edgie are still inside, 'kay!?"

No one seemed to notice the order in which she listed their names as the air grew ever tenser. Reimi continued to strain against her captors and yell, voice cracking, as Arumat dragged her back effortlessly. She managed to slip from Myuria's grip another time, but even then, she couldn't break free of Arumat.

"We can't wait any longer," Giotto explained, meeting the younger girl's gaze. "The symbol might be caught in the collapse!"

Two more massive portions fell away from the ground, only widening the chasm that divided them from Faize and Edge. Reimi shrieked his name a final time, voice hoarse from screaming. Lymle released his gloved hand and looked to where Faize and Edge remained.

She watched in dismay as his fingers scraped against the smooth ground. His boots slid across the floor as he struggled to haul himself into a kneeling position, where he could more effectively pull Faize up. The accomplishment would have seemed feasible if it weren't for the critical time limit until their demise was certain.

"No…," Lymle whispered to herself a second time.

_Faize… Faize, you have to come back…you…you're too terrible of a liar not to! Just a moment ago, your gaze was too even when you nodded at me. But if Edgie doesn't hurry…you'll…you'll both…_

_You'll both die. _She thought in a petrified moment, the image of him attempting to push Edge away when the ground first started to break apart returning. _But you…already see that…_ All but instantaneously, Edge tensed abruptly before left arm went limp. He straightened slightly and froze. Lymle held her breath as the gravity of the situation finally hit her.

She felt her heart in her throat, her knees going limp, and the faintly burning pain behind her eyes return as Edge yelled Faize's name at the to top of his lungs. She watched, mind blank, fully aware of what happened despite not having seen anything.

The freestanding door that lead to the Palace of Creation, which was undoubtedly disintegrating just as quickly, finally collapsed. It tilted to the left before sinking down and dropping. Edge leaned back and stood up slowly, more portions of the ground detaching as he turned around. The chasm between him and the symbol was far too large for him to jump.

Nevertheless, that fact wasn't enough to silence Reimi. She ceaselessly yelled his name, telling him to hurry up, as their gazes met for a fleeting moment. His fist clenched as he looked toward Giotto and took a single step backward. The Morphus, expression fearful for the first time any of them had seen, turned to look at him just in time to see his resolute nod.

Giotto returned the nod solemnly and reached up into the air, activating the symbol. The glow intensified and began to envelop them as Reimi jerked her arm from Myuria's hold a final time and reached out to Edge. Myuria looked down, not bothering to try holding her back. She jerked one final, futile time against Arumat's steely grip but accomplished nothing.

"He's going to die! Edge! Let go! Edge! _Edge!_"

They began to disappear and the cool air of Nox Obscurus faded. The vision of the dark abyss before them also receded as they began to return to the unnaturally balanced climate of the ships. The transfer was in effect, but in the last moment the hellish place remained before their eyes, a single thought pierced through Lymle's frozen mind as the final piece of platform below Edge fell, taking him along with it.

_This…is the "happy ending"…we were searching for…?_

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Final Hikari: -has Xbox360 controller in left hand and right hand on laptop keyboard- -sniffles- -watching the ending of The Last Hope- Wah! It's so _sad! _That ending chokes me up every time! -cries and glomps Faize- I hate to agree with Lymle twice regarding the negative things she says about you, but you're so _stupid!_

Faize: I would say that's one of the warmer greetings I've gotten from an Earthling, but you're remarkably similar to your sister with that love/hate disorder…no offense meant…

Final Hikari: None taken. But it's so _heartbreaking! _And I had to type a script of it all pausing every other word and abusing the dot dot dot in ways I have never before submitted unto! And then you fell and then with the Sol…

Faize: …But I'm right here.

Final Hikari: And the dot dot dots! A gross overuse of dot dot dot! It's very tempting and looks good and meaningful in the game, but it's _hell_ for the novelization author to reproduce in animation-less text form and still make cool…

Faize: Couldn't you just take out some of them?

Final Hikari: …The point of painstakingly taking a script and pausing every other word is to get every word, every grammatical error, and every bit of bad punctuation correct.

Faize: Couldn't you just have used that "YouTube" website you Earthlings favor so fanatically?

Final Hikari: Not really, but that's a long story. I also had the damnedest time writing about a character named _Edge _walking along and hanging over…well, hanging over an _edge_! That epic scene was hell to write. X.X Even with my much beloved Microsoft Works Thesaurus it was difficult to recapture the drama. I hope I did the scene justice. T.T

Lymle: -pats- It's fine, 'kay?

Final Hikari: XD Thanks. -clears throat- Now, back to my theatrics! The final boss was simply terrible! Forcing me to fight my favorite character! -turns to Arumat- And you! Your incredibly kickass special attacks, 4,000 ATK power, 35,000 plus HP, and just overall kickassness made it possible to beat Faize easily!

Arumat: -.- There is nothing good about dealing with little fangirls like you.

Final Hikari: -sniffle- I still hate you, Arumat! _Especially _after you invaded my dreams and became the first TLH character I ever dreamed of! No matter how many bosses you make a pushover to defeat, I won't forgive you for that. -.-

Arumat: …How could I possibly be held responsible for a figment of your subconscious imagination?

Final Hikari: X.X -mutters- Because if I wasn't so thoroughly corrupted and completely unable to resist a really good looking character voiced by Kyle Hebert with really hawt abs on display all the time, I'd have dreamed of Faize before you…

Arumat: …Excuse me?

Final Hikari: -.- None of your business! And you're wasting time again making the disclaimer go on far longer than need be. If I rant too much it might scare people off. XD Anyway! -turns to the readers- Thanks for reading and please review! I'm aiming for an update every two weeks, save an unexpected events. And feel free to point out any stupid typos you see. XD Until Dr. Meh is out of school I'll be proofreading myself. Final Hikari over and out!


	2. Lemuria

Final Hikari: -cackle- Yay, I love writing flashbacks that justify future actions and mental instability! But if I have to wrack my poor, tired mind for one more adjective I'll scream. Which would be bad for this really annoying earache I have.

-is stared at by all in room strangely-

Final Hikari: -clears throat- Okay! Since the opening disclaimer in the prologue was co-authored by my wonderful editor, Dr. Meh, and thus went completely out of control, it's time for the more serious, more routine introduction I do for every one of my new stories! This new project of mine is my first Star Ocean fan fiction. I do, however, write for many other Tri-Ace fandoms. I have a long-running Valkyrie Profile fan fiction along with a series of Lenneth x Lucian oneshots, along with a oneshot, short story, and upcoming novel for Infinite Undiscovery section.

Faize: The title was originally going to be "The Rain's Season" but later was changed to the more-relevant "Utopia."

Final Hikari: I really wanted to write something about Faize called "The Rain's Season." XD I didn't know what I wanted to write then, but now that I do have a plotline, that title just didn't really make sense. I was hesitant about a simple, one word title like "Utopia" but after some discussion with my aforementioned editor, it stuck. Just to clear any potential questions up, I'm setting this a few months after the end of The Last Hope.

Lymle: -pokes Arumat- What's it like to get scolded by someone more than ten years younger than you?

Arumat: -.- Leave me alone.

Final Hikari: -clears throat- Remind why I'm including you again?

Arumat: Because you abandoned your other Star Ocean project.

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- Ah, right. "How Many Phantoms?" died before it started.

Lymle: Hikari, it was only a week before getting the new game you said you would never write Star Ocean fan fiction, 'kay? You promised your editor that, right?

Final Hikari; -sweat drop- Haha! That was before The Last Hope! XD That was regarding Till The End of Time. -shifty eyes- I really liked End of Time, but it just didn't have any character that really made me want to write. That's usually what draws me in, after all. I very seldom will write fan fiction unless there's a specified character I want to write about. Like Faize! -heart-

Lymle: But Faize is just a big dummy, 'kay?

Faize: -.-

Final Hikari: Well, anyway. Time for the first chapter of Utopia! Lymle, disclaimer!

Lymle: The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope, 'kay?

Utopia

Chapter I

Lemuria

Lymle Lemuri Phi walked up the familiar hill that led to the imposing Alanaire Citadel over the Thalia Plains. Its high, dark peaks brought countless memories back for her, not all of which were pleasant. Many were from her first time inside with Edgie, Reirei, and Faize. More recent ones were with Lutea, her childhood friend and the current oracle. One of the darker ones was traveling past it to Wind Swallow Valley with Edge and Faize, who were troubled by hearing about the first Celestial Ship.

After investigating it and fighting the entity that was spreading bacculus, they'd set out to return to Triom. That was by far the worst part of the trip; from the moment they'd entered the Celestial Ship, she had a feeling of foreboding. The worry she'd harbored was made painfully accurate when they returned to see what had become of her grandfather and many of the other patients plagued by the disease.

Nevertheless, on the chilly spring morning, she walked all but alone. Cerberus was with her, acting as her guardian against any hostile creatures that prowled the land. The snow on the ground was little more than an inch thick and Cerberus' footsteps melted it away, revealing the ground below. Though she was safe with the demon under her command, and would be meeting up with Lutea shortly, she felt lonesome. Everything was so quiet. When she had traveled with her friends, it was _never_ so forlornly silent.

Edge and Reimi were always talking or bickering lightheartedly. Meracle and her infamous cat-like tendencies always eyed Sarah, a Featherfolk with beautiful white wings, like a meal and would materialize a fork and knife like magic. It always made Sarah flinch. Bacchus and Myuria often discussed matters of their home and missions they were given. Like Edge and Reimi, they were employed by their planet's government.

During the time he traveled with them, Arumat never said much. He usually hung back away from the others with his scythe in hand, though everyone could relax more with someone unnaturally strong like him around. Even though…his appearance and reason for joining them was less than pleasant. The memory made her frown; even if just because of the one he replaced.

She reached the doors of the citadel and beckoned Cerberus to depart. He obeyed immediately with a slight bow of his head and disappeared with a flash of fire. Lymle looked up at the tall, stone double doors sadly. She stared at the intricate engravings in each and sighed.

_And of course…you'd always wear that stupid cloak and tell me to act my age… And I'd always play tricks on you and make fun of your ears…_

She shook her head to dismiss the painful memories. She straightened and went to push the door open, but instead they were pulled open form the inside. Lymle looked up to see Lutea smiling down at her cheerily. She stepped aside and summoned her inside.

"Good morning, Lym!"

"Morning Lutie," Lymle said, in her usual impassive voice as she stepped into the much warmer citadel. "Is there anything we have to do before going to Woodley?"

"No, I'm ready. But do you want to rest for a while? Are you tired at all? The trip from Triom is pretty long."

"No, I'm fine. Let's go, 'kay?"

Lutea nodded and closed the door behind her. They started to the exit on the far side of the massive entrance hall that lead into the Van Elm Region. There were no windows but between the torches mounted on the walls and the mystical light coming from the circular opening in the center of the room, the area was well illuminated. It had once been full of monsters, but now only a few guardian beasts that hid out of sight remained.

Lymle's gaze was drawn upward to the stone walkways high above, accessible only by the enchanted rising and falling stones and the exterior ramparts. When there exploring with Edge, Reimi, and Faize, making the way to the top had been difficult. The monsters were not only on the ground floor, but also on the thin catwalks where combat was exceedingly challenging.

_You were so disturbed that time I sent that fire symbol over your head… Then again, if you hadn't ducked, those big ears of yours' probably would have gotten burned…_

Lutea was aware of the unusual silence; Lymle had been distant since returning to Lemuris, but her attempts to seem unfazed were transparent. "Lym?" Lutea questioned, drawing the younger girl from her thoughts. "Are you alright? It's been such a long time since you were home… You seem sad…"

"I already told you, I'm fine, 'kay?"

Lutea frowned, expression still dissatisfied. "Did something…bad happen?"

Lymle shook her head passively. "Lots of things happened, but it was all confusing. I really didn't have anything to do with what was going on most of the time."

"Well," Lutea paused, "if you ever want to talk about what happened when you were gone, I'm here. I'll listen…and do anything I can to help. I know you were very close to them, but I'm your friend too, alright?"

Lymle was silent for a moment, leaving the only sound that echoed through the cavernous citadel their footsteps against the stone floor. _Why am I acting like this? I'm home and with the friend I've known most of my life. It's been months since that fight. _The identity of the one whom they'd been set to go against had been painfully shocking, but they'd already been lead to believe he was dead. _There's hardly a reason…to remain grieving._

"Thanks," Lymle said simply.

"I won't pry if you don't want to tell anyone yet, but don't forget what I said…," Lutea smiled mischievously and continued in a much lighter tone. "Especially if it has to do with a boy! You've grown a few inches since you left, in a few years you'll be quite a pretty young lady."

She felt a blush creeping up into her cheeks as instantly denied the allegation. "Wh-what are you talking about? That's just silly, 'kay?"

"So why are you blushing?" Lutea asked with a giggle. "Because of one of those two nice young men you're friends with?"

"Lutie," Lymle said irritably. "Stop that, 'kay?"

"Okay, okay…I was just kidding."

Lymle crossed her arms as they neared the opposite exit. "Faize was a jerk anyway."

Lutea blinked, looking rather surprised. "W-wait, there _was _a boy involved?"

"_Lutie!_" she repeated.

"No, I'm asking honestly this time," Lutea insisted, clearly caught off guard. "I really was just joking with you…but that name does sound a little familiar, now that I think of it."

Lymle sighed heavily. "I _really _didn't like him, 'kay?"

"Was he one of the foreigners you introduced me to when you all came to Woodley? Was he the blond?"

"No, that was Edgie," the younger girl replied tiredly. "He had big, stupid looking ears."

"I do recall thinking one of them was particularly odd looking. But for some reason I just can't remember his face," Lutea said thoughtfully as she placed her hand on the double doors. There was a slight glow coming from the tips of her fingers the engravings on the door filled with light for a fleeting moment before the heavy doors slid open by themselves.

"There's nothing to remember…," Lymle grumbled as they started down the snowy path to Woodley.

The Van Elm Region was noticeably colder than the Thalia Plains; the snow on the ground was deeper, the branches of the trees were still covered in snow, and the thick clouds above implored more was on the way. _It would probably just be rain in Triom… _The water in the lake was beginning too thaw and it was almost the time of year people could start planting things. It was a much larger village than Triom and had more activity, especially after her home town was abandoned.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Lutea stopped poking fun at her and instead pointed out changes in Woodley she hadn't gotten time to show her young friend the first time she briefly stayed arrived. She'd first greeted Lutea and her mother before departing to Triom to visit her grandfather's grave.

The most noticeable difference was the building of a new area. All of Woodley was protect by stone wall to surround the buildings and, with the help of the new residents from Triom, the town was being expanded. They were building a new, larger wall in the area just south of where the village originally ended.

As soon as they passed through the gate to the village and started walking down the main road, some of the children out playing in the snow or running errands with their parents hurried over to greet them. Lymle recognized them to be Lutea's students, though not all their faces were familiar to her. There were just as happy to see Lymle as well, but only one who had always lived in Woodley and often competed with her commented on her long absence.

The question hardly caught the young symbologist by surprise. She was aware of how much time passed while she was with everyone, but she had seldom thought of everything that would be changing back on Lemuris.

After finishing with the greetings from her students, it wasn't long before they reached Lutea's home. It was one of the larger buildings, set back away from the main road. As soon as they were within a few of the door, the pleasant aromas of Lutea's mother's cooking drifted out of the house. The older girl reached for the key in her pocket, but a cheerful voice from within called out that she was coming. Lutea smiled as her mother pulled the creaky door open. They stepped inside and were both immediately hugged.

Lutea's home, unlike the rest of Woodley, hadn't undergone many changes. It was still the cozy and warm place she remembered. A bit cluttered by all of Lutea's mother's decorations and knickknacks, but still welcoming. Lymle's gaze was drawn to the kitchen, where pancakes were cooking. There were three place settings at the table and a large pitcher of syrup in the center. A steaming, fresh baked loaf of bread rested on the counter with a knife beside it. As usual, Lutea's mother had cheerfully made the most of the chance to cook a large meal.

_Auntie's cooking is a little better than Reirei's… _Lymle thought randomly, remembering all the good things she'd have when visiting Lutea in years past. Reimi had tried teaching her a few recipes when traveling aboard the Calnus, but the kitchen was small and she'd never really been able to pick up on many of them. Not for lacking of trying though; Reimi's home baked cookies had been excellent.

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_Lemuria. _Arumat P. Thanatos thought, surveying the seemingly endless stretches of grassy fields and rocky cliffs from where he stood beside a Sol. _Rather small and cold to be called a utopia, but it should serve the Eldarians well. The bitter climate will at least be a change from the sweltering, uninhabitable lands of Eldar._

_It may be the only planet ready for colonization, but none of the surviving Eldarians are going to respond well to having to forsake their technology. Supreme Commander Gaghan is already dissolving any Eldarian organizations that managed to stay together despite everything that happened. The military faction that he gathered together is also being disbanded; only a few other trained captains that aren't debilitated remain._

A cold gust of wind sent the leaves of the trees trashing. The remains of a wooden bridge over a portion of the lake systems creaked loudly in the wind. Two Eldarian civilian carriers had landed several miles south. Many of them were still orbiting the planet; only the ones scantly able to fly had landed. Many of the civilians hardly believed their proverbial utopia really exited. Others were more distracted at the cost it would come at; an even smaller quantity respected and understood the Commander's decision to begin anew on Lemuria, renouncing all of their technology.

It was an admirable, sensible resolution. Very few knew one of the central reasons behind the proclamation was the death of a certain young Eldarian the Commander had thought highly of. That knowledge was probably only in the minds of those who witnessed the sacrifice.

Arumat turned around to his Sol and tapped a button on the control unit on his gauntlet. The cockpit portion lowered and he jumped up and climbed into pilot's seat. The glass lowered and closed the area and he started the launch preparations.

_Nevertheless, this place is not my home. I'll finish the last of my missions from the Commander then go where my services are needed. The Phantoms are gone and I've had my time as a hero. This body is dedicated only to the never ending fight. I'll take the last Rednuht-004 and go. A soldier has no place in peaceful colonization, nor does Death incarnated have a roll in salvation._

The Sol's outer components shifted into flying configurations and began to levitate. As the shuttlecraft gained height, he activated the cloaking devices to exit Lemuria's atmosphere without being seen by the medieval inhabitants.

It only took a few minutes to break through the clouds and then break out of the planet's gravitational pull. There was no need to warp to the Eldarian fleet, for the trip in normal space was short. To his mild displeasure, the amount of time that elapsed before half a dozens communication links came up was far shorter. Perhaps Commander Gaghan _had _managed to find more missions for their only living member of the Thirteenth Independent Armored Division.

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_Faize Sheifa Beleth's craft had been falling for an agonizing long amount of time before impacting with great force. The white light that had enveloped it and filled the air inside with an ominous aura disappeared abruptly. The pilot's heart pounded and he didn't move for a long moment. A dark gray cloud of either dust or smoke made seeing out of the cockpit impossible. The only sound he heard was the metallic clink of the Sol's components breaking and falling._

_He glanced up at his reflection in the cracked glass, hardly believing he was still conscious - and alive. His left arm hung limply and his side and felt completely numb. His eyes returned to their natural violet color as a trickle of blood dripped down from a cut on his forehead. He also tasted blood in his mouth; the interior of the Sol was dully spinning around him. His body felt unusually heavy and lethargic, too weighted down to move. He was leaning against the back of the pilot's chair, which seemed to have been bent backward on impact._

_**I'm…alive? **__He wondered numbly as the dust began to clear. He didn't dwell on the unusual fact it was actually dust and not smoke, the more likely substance to be thrown off by artificial structures. __**What happened to that light? **__He thought with an hint of frustration. __**That power…why'd it disappear? What did it do?**_

_A cloudy and unnaturally black sky high above him was occasionally illuminated by a violent bolt of lightning. He sat up slowly, his head aching and making him feel dizzier. The controls of the Sol were all dark and unresponsive. Sparks and static emitted from them and shocked his fingers when he attempted activating them._

_**Where am I? The Sol was engulfed in light as I was going toward the Phantom battleship…then I couldn't see anything. Propulsion ceased and I was falling for so long…when that power slipped away.**_

___He struggled to piece the memories from before the crash landing together. The final moments returned to him in a rush and though his left arm was still without feeling, his right hand clenched into a fist as the image of the massive Eldarian civilian cruisers being shot down and destroyed filled his mind's eye._

_**But I obviously…wasn't able to save anyone. **__**Again.**__** Every time, I'm either too late or too weak to do anything. **__He fingered the emblem on the front of his cloak as his expression darkened. __**We wasted time on Roak and were too late…so that girl and the rest of the tribe were all scarified before we got there. All of them were helplessly slaughtered. They were attacked, captured, then murdered for the failed resurrection of a demon. Their lives were completely **__**wasted!**_

_**And then again on Aeos…we would have been able to get there in time if we weren't rescuing Sarah. If we hadn't wasted all of that **__**time**__** we could have protected all the Eldarians and Earthlings here…**_

_**All of the people that were with our exploration program…all the friends I grew up with and embarked alongside; they're all dead because we were too late. There were so many lives there that were extinguished without even realizing what was happening. Meaningless bloodshed and suffering at the hands of the Phantoms.**_

_**Then…again…on a more massive scale, on Eldar. **__He shook his head suddenly, ignoring the pain and spinning sensation it caused, to dismiss the dark thoughts. He looked up out of the cracked glass and attempted moving his left arm. If he couldn't use a sword, he'd be at ill advantage to fight; especially if his head didn't clear quickly enough to use symbols._

_**But that power…what happened to it? Where did it go? It was so close; I reached out to seize it, but it just vanished. I couldn't have imagined it…I know it was real…**_

_One thing was obvious; his Sol wouldn't be flying any time soon. The reading he'd managed to get before crash landing said the air was just breathable. He tried accessing some of the craft's menus, but not even the emergency generator was functional. Several hits from the Phantom battleships had damaged the engines as soon as he'd launched in the small shuttlecraft. One massive hit swiftly destroyed the shields, leaving the vessel susceptive to further harm._

_It wouldn't be too much of a problem to repair, no matter how bad the condition was, since he'd designed the original prototype himself. Though they had great endurance and maneuverability, they weren't meant to be used as a combat craft. There were virtually no armaments. He of all people should have known that._

_None of the devices were operational. He sighed and turned his attention to the manual locks. He stood up and reached over to his right and began the intricate process of reaching the emergency locks. There were eight of the them in total around the glass enclosure that protected the cockpit. It was a security feature designed not to be accidentally initiated. _

_He struggled with the ones over the main console, since he was only able to use one hand. The absolute lack of feeling in his left arm was slowly being replaced by a rather agonizing and burning pain. He released the final lock and covered his head with his arm as the lid began to lift off, in case of any the cracked glass breaking and falling. The soft, strained sound of more cracks forming and the exiting ones deepening filled his ears as a few tiny shards rained down. Luckily, the majority stained intact._

_He straightened, relieved to feel his mind beginning to clear. Cold, fresh, and almost electric air filled to cockpit as a horrendously loud crash of thunder echoed over the shadowy, menacing land. The Sol had landed at an awkward angle against a cliff, making climbing out difficult. He adjusted the rapier at his side before getting out to see where he was. Theoretically speaking, it was all but impossible for him to be anywhere but Aeos, but it was seeming increasingly likely that was not the case._

_Faize reached a high point of the Sol and surveyed the land, heart falling instantly. There was no possible way he was still on Aeos; no portion of the planet's continents could even faintly resemble the sinister vista that stretched on infinitely before him._

_The cliffs that formed a dry ravine were massive and barren. No natural plant or animal life was in view. The cliffs were an unnatural dark black and purple in color. The rough, uneven stony land dropped abruptly into increasingly low levels. Navigating to the bottom would be difficult at best._

_Murky, swamp like water bubbled where it gathered in some low corners of the ledges. Thick clouds above completed the foreboding aura. There seemed to be a reflective glow illuminating the area. He stared at the miserable barrenness and felt even more hopeless than before._

_"Where…am I?" he whispered to himself hollowly._

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Final Hikari: -typing and humming cheerfully to Gackt songs- Hmm, is violet too feminine of an adjective to describe Faize's eyes? XD It sounds more sophisticated than purple but I try to be conscientious of us using feminine or masculine adjectives.

Dr. Meh: Mmm, I don't think so; lilac or lavender would be worse. Faize is kinda girly looking anyway.

Faize: -.- I'm right here, you know.

Final Hikari: XD Don't poke fun at him. Meh. -leans closer and whispers- Really, the genetic modifications had an impact on his psychological makeup, that's why he went loopy in the end of TLH.

Dr. Meh: -rolls eyes- All your favorite characters lose their minds.

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- C'mon Meh, he doesn't wear a trench coat like the last two…no, three video game guys I've liked! I know you kinda threw Faize to the curb after I showed you Arumat, but still!

Faize: -.- I can still hear the two of you.

Lymle: They don't care, 'kay? They're two crazy teenagers.

Faize: …They're about the same age as you, aren't they?

Lymle: -nods-

Faize: -heavy sigh- Perhaps I've overestimated the average sanity of teenage girls.

Final Hikari: And I've most certainly overestimated how orange juice and chocolate chip cookies make my stomach churn… -slumps- I feel sick.

Dr. Meh: -.- I've _told _you not to dunk chocolate cookies in orange juice!

Final Hikari: XD I know, I know…but it tastes so good!

Dr. Meh: As a doctor I demand you stop at once!

Lymle: -wince- That sounds nasty, 'kay?


	3. Field of Innocence

Final Hikari: -surprised look- Wow!

Faize: What happened?

Final Hikari: I spelled "Alanaire" correctly first shot when I started typing this chapter out of my notebook! I'm honestly surprised my spelling of TLH stuff is good. XD No gloating intended, either. Years of writing has gotten my once deplorable spelling a lot better but usually when I start writing for a new fandom I simply _have _to do it on the Word Processor, because the spellings of names of places, people, and things completely elude me.

Lymle: But all you're remembering is easy words like "Aeos," 'kay?

Final Hikari: XD That's probably it. Aeos, Eldar, Lemuris, Calnus, Sol, Gaghan, and even Nox Obscurus are all pretty simple ones…but do easily spelling Rednuht, Alanaire, and Cardianon get me any points?

Arumat: No.

Final Hikari: -.- I wasn't asking you.

Arumat: You never specified who you were asking.

Final Hikari: I don't need advice from someone to take a _co-pilot's _seat who just kicks back - literally - because a ship doesn't have any armaments. Really! Computer consoles aren't _footrests!_

Arumat: This is coming from the girl who was so proud when she typed an entire sentence with her toes?

Final Hikari: O.O You freak! How do you know of that?! That was ten years ago! I was a little kid! You weren't concept art back then!

Faize: -glances between them, sees an argument starting, and interjects- So, Final Hikari, you're a baker, correct?

Final Hikari: -blinks, distracted- Hmm? Oh, yes, why?

Faize: Do you ever bake "cookies?" That's what you Earthlings call them, correct?

Final Hikari: -smug smirk- Darn right I do! I made two thousand cookies this past Christmas to give out as presents. :D

Faize: Impressive. That must have taken a while; how do Earthlings make them?

Final Hikari: -sweet smile- -sits next to him with an epitome of innocence look- Mmm, it took two days in the kitchen. They're pretty easy, though kneading the dough can get tiring after too many batches of rolled cookies… You like cookies, Faize?

Lymle: -glares silently-

Arumat: (…What kind of attention span is _that?_)

Faize: Certainly, they're one of my favorite foods.

Final Hikari: -yet sweeter smile- What's your favorite kind? I've made countless types, though I'm more famous for my double chocolate drops.

Faize: Those sound quite good. I usually prefer anything with chocolate.

Lymle: -glares more noticeably-

Final Hikari: -still sweet but rather dangerous, Dr. Meh like smile- I'll make you some, then! I use the best of all supplies, too. I'm sure they'll be a lot better than Reimi's. :D

Arumat: -drums fingers impatiently-

Lymle: -deep breath- Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope, 'kay?

Final Hikari: -clears throat- And on a serious note, I'm warning you in advance that I'm really unhappy with this chapter. X.X Even through writing, typing, and proofreading I wasn't able to really make it meet my mental standards…

Utopia

Chapter II

Field of Innocence

Lymle Lemuri Phi was sharing a room with Lutea and gazed out the only window in the room, kneeling on the edge of the bed to see out easier. A light snow was slowly falling outside, recovering the recently exposed ground. It wasn't bitter cold out, scantly cold enough for it to snow, and would probably turn into rain by morning. Nevertheless, it was peaceful, though a little lonely to watch it gently falling.

Lutea was only staying in the village for a few days before returning to Alanaire Citadel. Her students had come to the house for a lesson that afternoon, some of whom cheerily asked Lymle if she'd also teach them new symbols. She liked the idea, but wasn't sure if she could be as good of a teacher as Lutea. She knew from watching and once being a student that Lutea was through and encouraging when teaching her students. She put the sometimes hard to explain symbological processes into easily understood facts.

Lymle turned around to look around the familiar room. Lutea's room was always clean and well kept, though it seemed more cramped since her bookcases were moved beside her dresser on the far wall to accommodate a second bed. Since her grandfather passed away and Triom was abandoned, Lutea's mother gladly volunteered to take care of her. She appreciated the kind gesture, but also couldn't shake a feeling of loneliness. It was nice to see Lutea again, and a part of her was happy to be home, but she missed Edgie, Reirei, Baccie, Merry, Sarrie, Myurie, and even…well, maybe she didn't miss Mattie very much. He was pretty scary; nor did he every say much to the rest of the group. And he was just…really _creepy _with all the scars and the scythe. She'd also started to suspect he only had one eye.

Though…more than anyone else, she certainly missed _him _the most. Not because she liked him though, she reassured, just because it was boring not to have anyone to bicker with or play tricks on. And…the knowledge that he would never be coming back, unlike the rest of her friends she _could _see again, made it worse.

She turned back to the window and stared up to the dark sky. The thick snow clouds blocked the stars from shining through. It was all but completely opaque; almost like the skies above Nox Obscurus. She sighed heavily at the memory. It wasn't like her to hold on to sadness so tightly, though she simply couldn't dismiss it easily that time. Lutea was becoming worried about her, as well.

She was drawn from her thoughts when she heard the front door slam open. A quick, panicked voice spoke, but she couldn't discern what was being said. Lymle hopped off her bed and hurried over to the door. She reached up and turned the knob, pushing it open just far enough to peek out. The hallway was dark and only candles and oil-fueled lamps illuminated the main room. No one heard the soft creek of the bedroom door, nor did they notice her peering out.

The front door had been thrown open and the young man from the stock sheds stood in the doorway, eyes wide and out of breath. She felt the cold air pouring in from the open door and noticed snow on the man's hair and boots. There seemed to be blood on his worn gloves, though she couldn't be sure in the poor lighting. She heard a chair being slid on the far side of the room where the table was, then Lutea come into view asking what was wrong.

"Were were working late to complete the second guarding wall for the expansion project," he explained, "but there was an accident and one of the workers was crushed beneath the bricks. We got him out, but…,"

"I understand," Lutea said with a nod, pulling a coat off the rack and pulling it on. "Take me to him and I'll heal his injuries."

"But Lutea, it's late," her mother objected half-heartedly, seeming to know it was a losing argument. "It's pitch dark."

Lutea smiled calmly at her mother. "I'll be back soon. I'm just relieved to have been in town when it happened."

Lymle pushed the door open and hurried down the hallway. "I'll go too, 'kay? I know a lot of good healing symbol now."

Lutea's mother, still seated at the table, sighed heavily. "Be careful! And don't catch a cold," she added warningly.

"We'll be back," Lutea said, smiling briefly at Lymle before turning to the young man. "Tell me more about what happened on the way."

He nodded hollowly as the three hurried out the door. The temperature was dramatically lower outside and sent a chill up Lymle's spine. She wasn't used to the freezing nights of Woodley. The only light to illuminate the path was what shined through other houses or business' windows. The usually busy streets were all but completely empty and thin layer of snow settled over the cobblestones.

"All our lighting had gone out and a portion of the wall collapsed, it crushed his left arm and leg. The bleeding's really bad. We did our best not to move him when we unburied him."

Lutea nodded. "I see. So you'd say there are a lot of broken bones? Which limb is in worse condition?"

"His arm was bleeding heavier, but I don't really know. You'll be able to help, right?" he asked a little hesitantly.

"Of course. His life is safe in my hands, as long as there isn't severe damage to his spinal cord, he should be able to get back to normal after recovering a few weeks," Lutea said reasonably. Lymle looked up at her, noticing the calm, calculating expression she maintained.

_She's so ready for things like this now. _Lymle thought to herself as they passed through the gate that marked the original exit of Woodley, but now lead to the new area. _Kinda like…Faize. He was always so serious about everything. I thought he was just stubborn, but I suppose I understand now…anyone with a lot of responsibility has to be prepared for everything. Whether they be part of an organization trying to find a new home, or an oracle summoned by the people for help._

Lutea reached into her pocket and pulled a Sunstone out. She wrapped her fingers around the small, spherical stone. It began to glow and levitate over their heads. It illuminated the newly built cobblestone path under their feet as they got close to where the other workers gathered around their injured comrade. Lutea hurried past their guide and shooed the other workers away. Her Sunstone lagged behind slightly but caught up as she knelt down by the bleeding man's side.

The snow on the ground around him was minimal, but was there was dyed blood red. Lymle could see why they had panicked; she wasn't exactly sure how it had managed to inflict so many scratches and scrapes on the skin, but his left arm rested limply in his lap and his left leg was turned at a slightly unnatural angle. The sight was lurid, but definitely not the worst she'd ever seen or treated.

She hung back, quickly realizing her assistance wouldn't be needed. _Mattie would fight bleeding worse than that. But he would probably scare people from this planet away…by the dozen…_

Lutea spoke in a composed, level tone as she asked him a few simple questions. As he responded, she gingerly lifted his arm, causing him to groan in pain. She warned him not to resist the healing symbol she was about to use.

A soft white light surrounded her hands as the symbological circle appeared on the ground below him. It emitted a blue glow as the rings began to revolve quickly in opposite directions and the glow spread to his injuries. The others watched, mainly in relief and partly in awe, as the incredibly powerful healing symbol started to take apparent affect. His bleeding ceased all but immediately and the scrapes started to fade alongside the dark bruises on his arm. The sleeve was town, making the efficiency of Lutea's handiwork visible.

The man's breathing started to regulate as the rigid tension over his body subsided. She released his healed arm and straightened his ankle carefully. It was at least another minute before the symbological circle disappeared and the light vanished. Lutea leaned back as it did, looking a little fatigued. He moved his fingers hesitantly then turned to the young oracle, thanking her profusely.

Lutea smiled and nodded. "Of course. The extent of bone and muscle damage was fairly minimal, so I was able to repair it all quickly. Your arm and leg will still be stiff for about a week and you'll have limited movement for a day or so. You also lost an unusually large amount of blood, so be sure to rest before doing anything strenuous," Lutea paused for a moment before answered a question that was sure to come up next. "And don't return to work out here for at least two weeks."

"I understand," he said, returning the nod.

Lutea stood, a little unstable on her feet as she turned to the other works. "Help him walk back and ensure he gets to sleep. If there seem to be any further complications, please don't delay in summoning me."

"Thank you," the store house worked who had brought them said warmly, extending a hand to Lutea.

She shook his hand, insisting it wasn't a problem. The others also thanked her, though Lymle stood back, a few feet away from the others. She had always been Lutea's assistant in the past; the one to carry and activate Sunstones or symbol cards and help with the symbols if they needed to be maintained for very long.

It wasn't surprisingly Lutea quickly adapted to taking care of everything herself after so many months of her younger friend being away, but she couldn't shake the feeling of lonesomeness. She'd never thought she could feel so isolated on the planet she was truly from. Even when they'd been on completely different worlds, her friends had made her feel comfortable. Looking even further back, when her parents had died and she's started staying with her grandfather in Triom, she couldn't recall feeling so lost.

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Supreme Commander Gaghan walked down the gangplank of the transport ship, watching the night sky of Lemuria brighten as the stars began to disappear and the horizon glow. Arumat followed at a distance several feet back with a new scythe in hand; his previous one had, to his inconvenience, fallen into the dark depths of Nox Obscurus as it was falling apart.

The pilot of the ship heaved a sight of relief too soon as Arumat was about to exit the craft. He shot the pilot a foul tempered, trademark glare before following the Commander. _The joys of being a bodyguard, _he thought sarcastically.

"Mr. Thanatos," Gaghan addressed, "from your investigation, is this region free of hostile creatures and Lemurisian settlements?"

"Threats to colonization have already been eradicated. A settlement can be built on this region with ease. It's a safe distance from the other Lemurisian village we know of, including the abandoned town of Triom."

The Commander nodded as he studied the open area. "You traveled with a Lemurisian when part of Edge Maverick's crew, correct? Would this person be willing to assist our people? There will be many separate communities formed and my research crews won't be able to be everywhere."

"That Lemurisian is a child. She was vaguely aware of what happened to Eldar, but I doubt she'd be of any use."

"Simple knowledge of the land would be an asset to the people of the towns we will build."

There was a pause in the conversation as the Commander walked around, clearly pleased by the favorable, cool climate. If nothing else, it was at least very different from Eldar in its final decades. Never one to stop and enjoy surrounding, Arumat broke the silence with more serious conversation.

"What do you intend to do with the remaining Rednuht and Sols?"

"You already know the answer to that, do you not, Mr. Thanatos?" Gaghan questioned, turning around to face the young captain. "They shall be destroyed along with the Dominions and the rest of our technology. Do you have a differing request?"

"The Eldarian military is no more and I intend to withdraw from the government's command. I will leave Lemuria without intention of returning. You have already expressed your support of the Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact and I will do nothing to complicate that decision," Arumat paused, waiting for a response. "Your opinion, sir?"

"Is that your decision?" the Commander asked flatly. "To leave your people behind?"

"Yes, sir. A soldier is not needed in times of peace."

The Commander was silent, voice slightly disappointed when he spoke. "Your exemplary skills will be missed, but if that is your choice, I give you consent on the condition you wait until all the surviving Eldarians have landed. For protecting Eldar until the end of the planet's time and aid in the operation to destroy the Phantoms, this will be granted. You also must keep this confidential, or else others inside and outside of the remnants of our government will question the exception. Understood?"

"Yes sir," he repeated, "Thank you."

"As for the matter of your crew, that may take some time for me to arrange. There are a few who left the Exploration Base on Aeos with me that may be interested, but they won't have any combat experience. I doubt I can assemble four willing participants quickly."

"I don't need a crew. I can pilot a Rednuht myself, even in combat situations."

"Using manual targeting?" the Commander asked good-humouredly with a chuckle. "I know it was our technology on that Earthling ship, but I didn't know it was still possible to disable the auto targeting system for armaments."

"Too much reliance on machines leads to destruction," the soldier replied shortly.

"Yet, even with that belief, there is no chance you will remain here on Lemuris with your people? Is forsaking Eldarian technology too high a price for peace for you?"

"No, sir. My mind is set."

"Well, once development of the towns begins and you are making your departure plans, I would appreciate it if you would go ask that Lemurisian girl that is aware of our existence and situation if she would be interested in assisting."

Arumat tried not to grimace. "I don't think I would be a fitting candidate for that mission, Commander."

"Why ever not?" he asked, looking mildly curious. "Surely she would be more likely to meet with someone she knows and recognizes."

Arumat paused before resigning to telling the Commander the actual situation. "The child who was part of Edge Maverick's crew would often run and hide behind the captain or First Officer Saionji upon seeing me."

The Commander stared at him, expression clearly amused though he reframed from laughing. It was yet clearer that he sympathized with the little girl; it wasn't hard to picture small children running from the ominous, scarred, and scythe-wielding Death Squadron captain. It fact, it was fairly effortless since the infamous Thirteenth often scared his underlings.

"Well, thank you for clearing that up, then," Gaghan said, earning a slight glare as he cleared his throat. "As for the matter of your current mission, I want you to investigate the sight of the Cardianon ship that wrecked here on Lemuris last year."

"The one located on the outskirts of 'Wind Swallow Valley'?"

"Correct, and don't use the names the Lemurisians gave the lands with such resentment. The trail is difficult to pass through and some hostile creatures reside there. It's just above what I would entrust to an exploration and research crew, but most of our employees that had combat experience were posted as guards in the battles against the Phantoms."

"Most of that ship has been buried under snow or frozen under ice; it wouldn't be easy to excavate. Do you intend to have it destroyed as well?"

"Yes," the Commander replied, "Some Lemurisians know of it and the technology aboard the vessel is a danger to them and any Eldarians who don't agree with renouncing our own technology. As of now, our people don't know of it, but it's highly likely someone will stumble upon it if left untouched."

"Are there any alterative motives behind this I should know of?"

"The technology the Cardianon had outscores even ours'. I want to know if there is any data aboard the vessel about the Cardianon's other victim planets Mr. Beleth didn't recover when here on Lemuris. They were hostile being but we were uninformed of their practices. Even if we had been, the situation we were in on Eldar with the Phantoms would have prevented us from acting."

"There was a Grigori aboard that ship, correct? Would any successfully emigrated Cardianon unaware of what happened on Nox Obscurus come in search of it?"

"It is a possibility that hinders the abandonment of our technology for a new start here on Lemuris and a reason I'm granting your request. Interaction with other planets and races has always been carefully controlled, so you will probably be the only Eldarian not isolated on Lemuris. You may be called back if such a situation presents itself."

"Understood," Arumat responded with a salute. "I shall go to the targeted location in a Sol as soon as we return to the Dominion."

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Final Hikari: Okay! -claps hands together and enters rant mode- It's time to explain the timeline I've constructed and am now following! -sits down with guide book in lap- The TLH timeline starts in early 10 S.D. Faize's birfday is February 3rd, and he turns 18 shortly before the start of the game or in the early portions.

Faize: …You mean "birthday."

Final Hikari: :D Nope, I mean birfday. It sounds cuter like "twuble" instead of trouble. If I was Japanese, I'd say birsday. XD Anyway. Reimi's birthday is March 28th and the second private action on the fight to Cardianon after spending an unknown amount of time on Lemuris. It can be safely assumed Arumat turns 26 in that April. After the events of Cardianon, Alternate Earth, Roak, and Aeos on the flight to En II, Edge's birthday is celebrated and according to the Wiki he turns 21, which means it's July 30th. I was a bit surprised April, May, June, and July all passed so quickly, but that's confirmed. Lymle's birthday is only three days after my own, June 20th, but it isn't mentioned and I'm _assuming_ she turns 16. I'm a bit confused there. X.X It says she's fifteen in the beginning and by the in game June the plot's timeline is wearing on. Reimi is credited as 19 though she's actually 18 when the game starts. That's how I interpreted things, at least. Nevertheless, the events on En II slope into Nox Obscurus pretty quickly so I'm guessing the game ends sometime in August or September.

Edge: You know what assuming does…

Final Hikari: T.T Do I ever.

Lymle: -stare- That's too big of a rant, 'kay?

Faize: I don't think she's listening to either of us.

Final Hikari: So that'd mean the prologue falls in late S.D. 10 and the start of chapter 1 is a few months into S.D. 11, when the short character vignettes are played and Lymle still looks little. The UP3 is passed in S.D. 12, early to middle S.D. 12 I'd imagine, and that's also when the epilogues are set. We see Lymle looking a great deal older, Arumat still alive for unspecified reasons, and after the credits roll we see the two secret epilogues. Or we just look them up on YouTube. XD The game is a little vague about when the vignettes and epilogues are set, but I determined the vignettes have to be in S.D. 11 because Lymle is still shorter than me unlike in the epilogue, where she is probably taller than me. XD Yes, I'm _that _short. I decided to go with the assumption that Lymle turns 16 in the game's timeline, because the database, guide book, and instruction booklet all hint that she's 15 when the party meets her in March. Either way, Faize turns 19 in February of S.D. 11, while the others are still under the assumption he's dead. Arumat departs from Lemuria pretty quickly, as illustrated from the vignette, and is on an unnamed planet being uncharacteristically nice in S.D. 12. -turns to Arumat- You're 28 then, old man.

Arumat: Still several years younger than your precious Genesis Rhapsodos.

Final Hikari: -anime crash- Let's not go there. -recovers- Edge and Reimi don't have their own ship until S.D. 12, as illustrated by Commander Kenny's narration. It shows this ship with another USTA in the credits weaving through some Eldarian ships, including the Dominions that hold 50,000 people, around Lemuris before being joined by a single Sol. This kinda hints that the Eldarians' emigration _still _isn't complete in S.D. 12 but…well, that seems just a bit far-fetched. XD Was I just paying too much attention during the credits? -sweat drop-

Lymle: You pay too much attention to some things and too little to others, 'kay?

Final Hikari: Guilty as charged. But as a random note, I think Tri-Ace set the various birthdays up more for the dates' star symbols rather than to forge a timeline though. -sweat drop- My editor told me about the supposedly pre-determined traits of Taurus' and Aquarius' and they were both quite fitting for Mattie and Faize. XD


	4. Reaching Out To You

Final Hikari: -enters room with a large plate of cookies- Ta-da! Warm, fresh baked double chocolate cookies! -puts it down on table with a knowing smirk- None for Arumat though. He's too sour; no amount of sugar could ever sweeten _him _up.

Arumat: -.- You think that's going to bother me?

Final Hikari: -sticks tongue out at him while Faize, Edge, and Lymle gather around table for cookies-

Faize: These are quite good, Final Hikari!

Final Hikari: -spins on heel- Thank you! I am going to culinary school in a few years. And you can call me Hikari.

Lymle: -pointed glare goes unnoticed-

Edge: You could probably give Reimi a good challenge with these!

Final Hikari: XD I don't think I want to meet Reimi if on those conditions. But thank you.

Faize: They're very chocolaty, too. You put a lot of chocolate chips in.

Final Hikari: :D Hershey's brand, too! 24 ounces of pure milk chocolate chips!

Faize: …How much?

Final Hikari: …24 ounces? I'm afraid I don't know the metric measurement…

Faize: Is that an Earthling measurement…?

Final Hikari: Yeah. -sweat drop- Two bags about this big. -searches cupboard holds a third backup bag up-

Faize: -nods- That's quite a lot, correct?

Final Hikari: About six dollars worth if you don't get them on sale. Only $1.98 if you're a coupon cutting penny pincher though! -evil laugh-

Faize: Hmm. That isn't much by Eldarian standards, but I'm sure the currency differs greatly.

Final Hikari: Six USD. It's a really inflated currency now. I remember the days when the were only two dollars without a mark down!

Edge: O.O Six USD for two bags of chocolate chips? That's inflation?

Final Hikari: -hugs wallet protectively- Do I event want to know what that would cost in S.D. 11 Earth?

Edge: Probably not; you can't even buy toothpicks for a single digit of USD.

Final Hikari: Holy _crap._ T.T How much are computers? My laptop was $1,000 in its day.

Edge: That's nothing. They're a lot smaller and have capabilities that vastly outscore your laptop, but they're more like quadruple in price.

Final Hikari: Oooh, question! Is Microsoft still around?

Edge: To some degree, yeah. They've improved since Windows Vista.

Lymle: -whisper- Why are they talking about windows and landscapes?

Final Hikari: O.O They're still using Vista?

Edge: Nah, I read about it in a history book.

Final Hikari: -dreamy look- A future with Windows without Vista…ahhh, I can't wait!

Faize: -stares- I really haven't the faintest idea what the two of you are talking about…

Lymle: I think only Earthlings know what they're talking about, 'kay? -grabs a particularly chip-filled cookie he was reaching for off plate-

Faize: …The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope, nor does she own "Windows" or "Vista."

Utopia

Chapter III

Reaching Out To You

"Do you think…," Reimi Saionji paused, surveying the small, sleek Eldarian shuttlecraft docked in a private hangar, "we should return the Sol to the Eldarians?"

Edge Maverick also stared at the vessel, arms crossed and expression distant. "They'd just destroy it…," he trailed off sadly. "They wouldn't have any use for it since they're immigrating to Lemuris."

They stood in the area above the airlock, looking in from the glass dividing wall. The USTA headquarters were spacious, though their patience for sparing a launching area were wearing thin. Normally, deciding the fate of a mere shuttlecraft would be simple, but the memories invested in the Sol added a complication.

"But without the control unit, it's hard to pilot," Reimi objected. "We could try asking Arumat for another one, but he's…well…,"

"Creepy?" Edge finished knowingly.

"Well, that too, but I was just thinking that he isn't really the type to do any favors for us. And even then, since those units are synced with the vessel and the pilot, it's hard to say if it's replaceable," Reimi reasoned.

Edge didn't respond immediately, leaving a moment of silence between the two of them. The air contained an aura of disappointment, though it was neither awkward or peaceful. He'd thought better of it up until then, but decided to voice a thought that had been bothering him.

"Do you think it would function at all, like it does now, if the external control unit was completely destroyed?"

Reimi's gaze dropped to the metal floor beneath them sadly. "Edge…," she said quietly, lacing her fingers between his and squeezing his hand gently. "Nox Obscurus…is completely gone. Not even the remains of a massive ship like the Calnus were recovered. I know you want to believe there might be some way he's still alive, and I do too, but…"

"Even after he fell, he was still alive," Edge interjected, "and aware enough to send this Sol to save _me_. He could have saved himself the exact same way. There wasn't even a guarantee I'd be able to pilot a Sol without the control unit and it would have been impossible for me to warp if the situation had called for it. I couldn't read any of the controls; everything was in Eldarian. There was only a chance that I'd be able to survive, but a guarantee he would have."

"I know Eldarians don't usually have families, and he was no different…," Reimi spoke slowly and chose her words hesitatingly when she replied. "but Faize looked up to you like an older brother. He saw someone strong that he wanted to help and be more like until the very end," she paused, waiting for him to reply.

He remained silent, gaze stationary on the Sol. She waited another moment before she pressed on. "Tell me, Edge…if you were in a situation where you had to choose between saving yourself and saving the only person you saw as family, no matter what the variables were, what would you have done?"

"I'd have saved my family," he said simply, squeezing her hand back.

"Exactly," Reimi said with a nod. "He was just doing what his mentor would have. It's painful to look back on, but it was his decision; his own individual will, no longer being manipulated by the Grigori. If anything, it's something to respect, not regret."

Edge sighed heavily and stepped away from the glass divider separating the small room from the air locked hangar. "I'd like to at least be able to fix the damage it took and put it to good use," he said resolutely, "Preferably with some translations for all the menus and programs into an Earthling language, too…"

Reimi smiled at him and followed him to the exit, still hand in hand. "Even though he's already been on Earth to show his support of the Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact, I kinda get the feeling you'd have a better chance contacting Commander Gaghan and asking him for a replacement control unit rather than Arumat."

Edge didn't acknowledge the not-so-uncommon Arumat bashing. "It's hard to believe Faize actually designed and engineered the Sol himself. They were mass produced by the government, right?"

"I believe so," Reimi agreed, "I think that's why he directly knew and worked under Mr. Gaghan in the first place."

"Most of the people at the Exploration Base knew Commander Gaghan. I suppose a lot of them worked with Faize, too. There was that one girl, Rose, with the strangest hair color who'd always fuss over him."

"And you, too," Reimi added, more than a little sourly. "She'd say not to catch colds and that kind of crap."

"You sound jealous," Edge said jokingly with a sight smirk.

She elbowed him gently and sighed exasperatedly. "This conversation _was_ serious."

"I think you distracted from that first."

"Anyway," Reimi said, rolling her eyes at him, "I do worry about Lymle sometimes."

"She was really distant after that, wasn't she? I was a little surprised at the time, but the more I thought of it, it made sense. She even asked me what he had said to me in the end on the trip back to Lemuris…"

Reimi nodded. "She was sad after Faize left our group on Aeos, too. She tried to hide it, so I don't think everyone noticed. She never really got over it, either. She _really _disliked Arumat, too…even more than Meracle and me. Not that I can blame her…he's just so-"

"Scary," Edge finished unsympathetically.

"Yeah… And even though she's back home with Lutea, I can't help but wonder."

Edge paused, remaining silent as a researcher in a USTA uniform walked past them with a data panel in hand. "Do you think it was right that I lied to her?"

Reimi glanced up, looking a little surprised before remembering. "That's right…after we were all back on En II she asked you…how it happened."

"I told her it was my fault Faize fell," he explained regretfully, "I thought it'd be better if she blamed me. It'd have been more painful and she'd never have forgiven him if she knew he let go. I decided pretty quickly to be the one to carry that blame, but was it really right for me to have lied about something so serious?"

"Edge…," she trailed off, though her expression was resolute. "At the time, you did the right thing. In the future, when she's older, I could understand telling her the truth. It was a difficult matter and you did your best not to make her suffering worse. Although, to be perfectly honest with you, I think she already suspected otherwise."

Edge frowned. "But if she did, then why-"

"Because she respected the fact you'd prefer her hating you than resenting him and faintly happy you made the decision to protect her so quickly, like a good friend should. Although she was probably also sad to have her doubts confirmed."

"How can someone so young feel so many emotions at once without psychologically exploding…?" Edge grumbled halfheartedly.

"I think she had grown a bit by the time we went back to Lemuris with her. And don't try understanding, most men your age have the emotional range of a teaspoon," she added knowingly.

"What was that?" Edge asked, casting her a guarded look.

"Nothing, nothing," she said, smiling sweetly then changing the subject. "It's pretty hectic around here with the UP3 going through, but if we weren't grounded we could at least visit her…"

"We're not complete grounded," he pointed out.

"How do you figure?"

"We cold Arumat for a ride," Edge suggested jokingly. "He still has a ship."

"Didn't we just talk about Arumat and favors?" Reimi asked dryly with an exasperated sigh. "He meant sort of well most of the time and he certainly made fighting easier, but he was never very eager to work with us…"

"We have some data from the Morphus that handled Eldarian battleships. The name sounded like 'radish.' They're called…Red-something."

"Rednuht," Reimi corrected. "They're not relation to the edible Earthling root."

"Right," Edge said, "and he called them 'Morphus bastards' for having the data on it. Myuria was pretty short with him after that."

"Have you heard from either Myuria or Bacchus recently?" Reimi questioned as they walked down the narrow, white corridor, destination in sight.

"No, I haven't heard from anyone since we all separated. Supposedly Bacchus is retiring, though. I'm not sure about Myuria."

"Well…," Reimi began, "I suppose we'll just have to wait to try contacting the others until after the Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact is passed. They have us running in circles around here…"

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Lymle Lemuri Phi flipped dully through the pages of a book on various aspects of symbology. They were few symbols explained that she didn't already know. She'd learned far more from Myuria, Sarah, and even…though she hated to admit it, even Faize. The book was painfully boring; perhaps even worse than the texts Faize would always read on one of the Calnus' many "computers" on the same topic.

_Faize…_

She closed the book and hopped off the bed and walked over to the bookcase on the far side of the room. She reached up and slid the book back into the shelf it came from. She scanned the titles on the worn, old spines to see if there was anything that sounded even remotely interesting. Nothing jumped out at her, so instead, she walked over to the desk and pulled one of the lower drawers open.

She reached in and withdrew the out of place "plastic" container. Words handwritten in a language she couldn't read were on the cover. They were of the same unusual writing system all the Calnus' menus and Reimi's cookbooks were in.

She sat down on the chair and placed the small box on the desk. She opened it up and gently lifted the smooth, glossy photographs from Reimi out. Most were just of the group when she'd random demanded someone would look up from whatever they were doing and "smile for the camera." She usually would do so halfway through a long, boring warp trip when the ship was on auto-pilot.

Most such pictures had come out successfully. Reimi was a good photographer, so they were always clear and centered. She'd gotten all but one member of their crew smiling. The one time when she'd attempted to take on of Arumat hadn't gone as planned. He'd glared at her and reached out to block the camera. The device's flash combined with Reimi's perfectly timed step back was faster and she'd hurried off with a smug giggle while he muttered about foolish, unfocused Earthling girls.

There were a few others taken by Sarah, Meracle, or herself, but most of those were a little cocked or the subject of the image was sometimes off center. An example of such was one of Reimi yelling at Edge, the latter who was rubbing his cheek where she'd just slammed him the moment before. The next one in the stack depicted Reimi glaring at the person holding the camera, who she believed was Meracle, while dragged Edge off by his ear.

They'd been organized in chronological order, and one shortly after was of when Lymle asked Reimi to take a picture of her and her doggie with an extra bow on his head. It was taken on the flight deck, and in the background, Faize was seated at the co-pilot's console, glancing over his shoulder suspiciously at Cerberus.

They'd never gotten along well; even in serious situations when she'd summon Cerberus in battle, if Faize got near the demon dog, he'd snap at the swordsman's fingers and growl ominously. He'd never warmed up to Faize since her initial command to sic the doubtful Eldarian.

Reimi had let her look at them on her computer, but she hadn't looked at the printed ones the older girl had given her as a goodbye present, in addition to some fresh baked cookies that has disappeared rather fast. She flipped through the rest, one of Myuria boringly tempting Meracle with a shiny ribbon, another of the name plates Reimi had placed on the two potted plants in the Calnus' living quarters, Edge sneaking into the kitchen trying to steal a fresh baked muffin off a cooling rack and getting his hand whacked with a spatula, and one of Welch poking at Faize's ears.

_Why did Reirei give me so many pictures of Faize…? _she wondered randomly, stopping and starting at the picture. Creatively speaking, it was a very good picture. She remembered the day clearly; he'd been trying to explain that they were some type of over-ear translators, a common accessory on Eldar. Welch hadn't been convinced and thought he was just making things up, then challenged that if they really weren't his real ears, why he'd leave them on even on a ship like the Calnus with onboard translators. Since she was there only as a hologram, she wasn't able to try removing the herself.

She stared at the picture longer than any of the others, gaze drawn to his violet colored eyes for a long moment. The color was unique, even by Lemurisian standards. She frowned sadly, remembering the last time she'd looked up at him.

_Edgie told me to run and catch up with the others…while he and Faize followed. Faize was too badly injured to keep up. _She continued to stare at the picture, remembering with painful clarity their last moments together. The ground beneath them had been trembling, cracking, and lurching. She'd glanced after the others, led by Arumat with scythe at the ready to eliminate any enemies that tried to stop them, then to Edge and Faize.

_You nodded so reassuringly…you were never a good liar, even when you tried not to disappoint me when trying to explain the legend about Lemuris' red star. It was so obvious you were lying because Edgie wouldn't. But then, in the end, I believe you…I really thought you'd be coming back. Edgie's friend, Crowie, said you'd died…then we had to fight you. Once you were released from the Grigori's control, you were yourself again…_

_You were coming back. _She thought again, unable to ignore the agonizing reflection. _We were all going to be together! But then we all ended up separating anyway. Even if we would have ended up all returning to our real homes…you were supposed to…come here…to Lemuris. With every one else from Eldar. This planet was supposed to be…both of our homes._

She felt her eyes fill with tears at the thought. She froze, the stack of images slipping from her fingers. She put them down quickly and immediately wiped her sleeve over her eyes. _I'm not crying for that dummy again!_

She shook her head abruptly and replaced the pictures back in the container, without heed to the now interrupted chronological order, and put them away. _I won't…I'm not…crying for him again… It's been months. I'm not grieving!_

She was jarred abruptly from her thoughts when the bedroom door was pushed open and Lutea cheerfully called her name. She entered the room with a smile as Lymle stood and turned to face her, hoping her face didn't betray the dark turn in her reflections.

"You've grown another two inches, Lym," Lutea said, holding a cloth measuring tape up. "We're going to get some new clothes made for you. Mind if I take some measurements?"

"Thanks," Lymle replied as she walked over to the center of the room. "I like bright colors, 'kay? What measurements do you need?"

"Your arm span for sleeve lengths, then the height for a dress, and some others for shirts and skirts. It's probably a good idea to get a new pair of shoes for you, too."

"'Kay," Lymle said, stretching her arms out to be measured.

Lutea knelt down to take the still much shorter girl's measurements. A slight frown seemed to cross her expression when she looked at Lymle's face, but she didn't comment. _At least…she isn't asking me things this time…_

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Muttering a curse under his breath, Arumat P. Thanatos pushed through the wall of snow and into the only recorded opening of the Cardianon ship. A small, rather demonic looking saber tooth squirrel launch itself at him immediately, but was sliced in two by the blade of his scythe hardly a moment after becoming airborne.

Arumat glanced momentarily at the animal's remains, wondering how a squirrel-like being could have been classified as a "tiger" in the database. Ignoring the fact, he walked through the sector and into the hallway. The structure of the ship, interior and exterior, was greatly different from the vessels used on Eldar. When it had been operating, near a year ago, it would have been a fairly admirable sight.

However, in its current condition with ice, damage from fighting and animals, blown through doors, and portions of the floors and ceiling that were weakening and sagging, it was little more than a ruin. There were also signs of people who passed through, including types of damage that could only have been inflicted by symbology. The temperature within hardly differed from what it was outside; he could still see his breath every time he exhaled.

_The Cardianon._

_Creatures corrupted by external evolution brought about by the Grigori. Even so, by their own warped will, they became monsters invading planets to preserve their own existence. Slaughtering the inhabitants, overtaking the settlements, exterminating the unfavorable wildlife, and consuming all the resources until the planet was nothing more than a polluted husk, in a condition worse than that of Earth._

_They never crossed Eldar's path and Gaghan wouldn't participate in interplanetary war. Most of our data on them came from what that kid, Beleth, downloaded on Planet Cardianon. Their nearly deserted home planet is out of contact now, but the data didn't reveal the names of the planets where invasion was successful. There's still a good chance, though their society would be greatly restricted without Grigori, that they may intend to continue overtaking planets… Or return to Lemuria to see what happened to this massive battleship._

_Nevertheless, they probably aren't extinct. They're hostile aliens and would most likely laugh - assuming they possess the function - at the idea of a Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact. If they still exist somewhere off in the most distant reaches of the star ocean, they're a threat. Especially if they know who sent their mother ship off into uncharted space._

A loud screech echoed down the hallway from behind him. He turned around, expression uninterested as a Harpyia came speeding toward him with swiftness that blurred its features. He lifted his hand and beckoned to the power of a symbol. The revolving blue circles appeared before him as several spheres of fire materialized and shot forward, engulfing the creature.

It let out an ear-piercing scream as it flapped its wings violently, an action that only succeeded in spreading the flames more efficiently. After another moment of struggling, its corpse fell to the floor and continued to burn until it was reduced to ash. He turned around and continued down the cold hallway, idly reaching the conclusion every monster on Lemuria was pathetically weak. The fact made it good for colonization but agonizingly boring for a soldier.

The remainder of the trip was uneventful; a few of the aforementioned monsters that inhabited the ship tried attacking but fell to his scythe instantly. He followed the map to the first functioning data panel, but when he entered the room and attempted accessing it, the screen remained dark and the controls unresponsive.

There was a high probability that since the security mainframe on the mother ship was destroyed, just about any functioning terminal on the ship would yield a great deal of new information. However, finding one was proving more difficult than anticipated.

He left the unresponsive console and entered the room ahead. The overhead lighting no longer worked, leaving the room pitch ark. A single flashing light on a computer console in the far left of the room caught his attention. He walked over, scythe at the ready in case of enemies lurking in the darkness.

He tapped a few of the keys on the console, breaking the thin layer of ice that had settled over them as he did. The Cardianon computers didn't operate like the ones on Eldar, Earth, or even En II. He withdrew the small auto-hacking data port from his pocket and connected it to the console's signal. A moment later the screen came to life and the terminal's data began downloading to the device.

Images and documents flashed across the screen as all the information was extracted. There were also numerous blank, password protected files that lacked a display picture. Though they would still need to be decoded, the main layer of security encryption was lost, permitting them to transfer.

He straightened and waited for the process to finish, until an image of a familiar planet flipped past. He indexed the files copied and opened the one in question. The picture was of Lemuria; he tapped a button on the small Eldarian computer to translate the text on the page. The file's title was the first to translate and it instantly made him frown.

_Lemuria? But they should know if it was Lemuris, the name the people use. Lemuria is present only in Eldarian culture…as a utopia. _He read the small text as each sentence converted from the strange Cardianon form of written language into Eldarian characters, but determined it was all generic observation data. It regarded mainly the planet's geography, seasons, resources, rotation, and atmosphere composition.

There was no mention of civilizations present, imploring the file was made beforethe ship landed. There was a footnote at the very bottom of the document that explained the file's origin.

_"An ancient transmission in an Eldarian language traveling through space at a slow, outdated speed was picked up and intercepted by the communications department aboard the Mothership. The only two audible, complete words were "Lemuria" followed by "Utopia." The origin of the transmission was tracked to a hospital planet far away from the Mothership. This planet, Lemuria, shall come under Cardianon control in the next year. A ship carrying Epiphany of Guidance Number II shall be dispatched within the next sun circle."_

"Cardianon bastards…," he muttered, closing the document as the transfer completed. He ejected the drive and pocketed it, turning to the exit to progress to the main control room. _That's the last thing we wanted to learn about how they discovered it before we did…_

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Final Hikari: No, I don't really think "Rednuht" sounds like "radish." XD But oyyyy. XD I was asked an awkward question today.

Lymle: What were you asked?

Final Hikari: How long I played TLH in my first few days with it. XD It arose because I was pretty much dead in the online world for a while. -sweat drop- And the truth is…I played forty-eight hours in less than two weeks.

Faize: -stare- You played for forty-eight hours in exactly how many days?

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- Um. Lemme count. Ten. XD Two out of ten days on my Xbox. XD That's pretty impressive for me!

Arumat: …That isn't healthy.

Final Hikari: Mmm. Only two of those days were days off, too. The rest were school days. XD I didn't have any time to play, either. Like I did for Crisis Core, I _made_ time to play… XD

Faize: …When did you sleep? School days can be seven hours if transportation and preparation is calculated.

Final Hikari: Well, being home schooled helped a bit. But I didn't sleep very much. XD I woke up at 6 AM, showered immediately, did schoolwork until 1 or 2 PM, then pretty much spent every available second that wasn't dedicated to dinner or chores with my Xbox.

Faize: That's still rather unhealthy.

Final Hikari: XD I was really obsessed. Also, I determined something very disturbing. O.O

Faize: …Do we want to know?

Final Hikari: Hard to say, it may interest some. Anyway. Welch is kind of funny in her weird, creepy, and at times annoying way. I never really liked her much until I saw the accidental kiss scene. XD But I also determined that I can do a very upsettingly good impression of her voice. T_T -hangs head- Seriously. The maddeningly annoying "Eee! Eee! Eee! Is this the first sign of L O V E?! Show Auntie Welch some more!" comes very naturally to me. X.X

Lymle: …You have a creepy accent, 'kay?

Final Hikari: I know. -.- I got my hair cut in February or whenever and one of the young ladies there said, "Where are you from? You have such a unique accent!" Everyone in the room or didn't believe me when I said I was born about an hour away and have lived about fifteen minutes away my entire life. -.-

Faize: Unconventional variations in accent aren't unheard of though.

Final Hikari: And since unconventional variations in your consistently overly formal vocabulary would be viewed as out of character, writing conversations with you involved give me headaches. T.T Worse ones than the flashbacks did. XD


	5. In A World Without Feeling

Final Hikari: Ahhhh! It's warm! At long last, it's warm out! The windows are open! I can wear one of my many short sleeved shirts! I only wear collared button up shirts and I have a wider array of colors in short sleeves rather than long. XD But it's finally warm! My fingers aren't numb! How do you survive in Lemuris with it being cold so many months of the year?

Lymle: That's easy, 'kay? You're too cold all the time because you don't dress properly.

Final Hikari: O.O I refuse to wear shorts and I button the collar! I totally dress decently!

Lymle: I said properly, not decently, 'kay? In the winter, it's important to wear layers of thick materials.

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- But if I wear too many thick layers, it adds unnecessary inches to my waist. X.X I haven't owned a dress in five years, so I can't get away with that, either.

Lymle: That's your problem then. You're vain, 'kay?

Final Hikari: -anime crash- Gimme a break! I'm no worse than the average teenage girl cosplayer! It's not like I'm diet obsessed and anorexic…-.- Or like that crazy woman on Roak in Tropp! She was scary. XD

Lymle: Still vain.

Final Hikari: -.- Stop being snide like me.

Lymle: I'm not being snide, 'kay? Just truthful.

Final Hikari: -taps foot- You still sound like a younger but equally cynical version of myself and it's very unnerving.

Reimi: -thoughtful- Do you think they get along poorly because they're the same age and born under the same star sign, only three days apart?

Edge: Anything's possible.

Reimi: The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Final Hikari: Only the three sacred discs and a guide book that got damaged in the mail. -curses at GameStop- And dammit, I want to scrap the opening flashback! X.X I hate it so!

Utopia

Chapter IV

In A World Without Feeling

_Faize Sheifa Beleth dropped to one knee, breathless, exhausted, and injured after his umpteenth encounter with one of the incredibly powerful Phantoms that prowled the hellish ravine. The ones lurking in the dark, miserable wasteland were far stronger than the ones it took all eight members of the Calnus' crew to fend off back on Aeos._

_There were far less of them, but he was unable to use symbology and his still slightly numb left arm had been injured, causing him to resort to wielding his rapier right-handed with yet worse results. All the battles were long and draining, and the Phantoms often bore the faces of other enemies he'd encountered in the past._

_He clutched the hilt of his sword tightly, staring in dismay at the ground as his vision began to blur. __**Why did this happen? That power…the sheer strength of it…I was supposed to save everyone with it. Destroy all the Phantom ships…prevent more meaningless bloodshed…but it disappeared as soon as I reached out and seized it!**_

___It started as a low rumble but escalated into a massive crash of thunder that send a tremor across the canyons. Icy cold rain pelted down with unnatural force, stinging his skin and creating a slight burning sensation as it trickled down. His clothes were thoroughly soaked by the acid rain, only adding to the aura of misery._

_He struggled to keep breathing, for each breath became more labored and agonizing to take in and let out. His lungs ached and summoning enough energy to breathe was becoming increasingly taxing He found himself counting every one, wondering which would be his last._

_**Is this the end…? Am I going to die here? The only other time I ever thought the situation was completely futile was when the pair annihilation from the exalithium crystal was going to destroy the Alternate Earth… Even when the situation back on Aeos became desperate, in worst case scenario, we probably could have managed an escape…**_

_His grip on the sword's hilt faltered and loosened. He watched as the rain washed the blood from the deep cut on his left arm down his fingers then on to the ground below. The watered down red liquid blended into the coarse stone very naturally, almost as through blood was meant to be shed upon it._

_His fingers slipped from around the cold, wet metal hilt. He felt his body sway forward and fall, causing his cheek to scrape against the ground rather painfully. His sword remained upright, only at a slight tilt. He took a deep, unsteady breath as the rain burned his face, particularly painful around his eyes._

_**This really is it…I'm going to die. I wasn't even able to save my own pathetic life, never mind anyone else. **__The pain of his injuries and the sound of the violent thunder dulled as his eyes began to close. __**They'll never forgive me for leaving now…especially Lymle… But I suppose…it doesn't matter…I'm going to die, after all.**_

___Even the ever present, faintly burning pain from the rain receded. He took a slow breath that he could only imagine to be his second to last. He inhaled slowly but held it, trying to make his mind conjure a coherent thought without success._

_His eyes were hardly open when a light appeared in the distance before him. It was solid and unwavering, practically blinding his narrow line of vision. It filled the air with a expectant static as it expanded. It drew closer, threatening to envelop him._

_He felt as though a sudden, crushing weight was settling over his body. He was vaguely aware of the familiarity the cold, bright light possessed. He exhaled slowly, eyes about to close when the static reached him._

_**That…that power!**__ He thought with sudden clarity. __**It's the same as before…the one that brought me here. But even if I can grab hold of it now…can it really preserve my life…?**__ He extended his arm toward it, wincing as the pain of movement made him slightly more____aware._

_The light seemed to move further away, but he wasn't deterred. The aura of the light continued to spread, covering more of the area. He stretched his hand out, the feeling of desperation returning to replace defeat. His fingers felt as through there were being pressed into snow or ice as they came in contact with the glow._

_A sudden revitalizing feeling spread over him as the light crept up his arm. He took a deep, much needed breath with the abrupt flood of strength. His breathing began to regulate and a slight, relieved smile came across his expression. A moment later, however, it was replaced by a pained grimace as the agony returned in a flash._

_The ache of his strained muscles, the sharp pain from his left arm, the finger he suspected to be broken on his right hand, and the other throbbing slashes came back faster than it had disappeared. He felt dizzy and weakened, but the condition no longer felt life threatening. He forced himself to his knees, arms trembling violently as he reached once again for his sword._

_**This is definitely the same power as before… **__He though, turning his gaze skyward as his vision cleared. __**I won't let it go again. This power…it's too strong…even Edge couldn't beat me if I can control it…**_

_**Yes…I have to control it. I **__**will**__** control it! I…I won't be defeated again!**_

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Lutea exited the general store, arms full. The large bags were full of groceries for the entire week, though they were a little heavier than usual. She'd purchased sugar, flour, chocolate, and a few others baking supplies to make cookies with Lymle.

_Faize. _She closed the door behind her and walked down the steps, feeling a thin sheet of ice beneath her winter boots. _That's the name Lym mutters in her sleep. I remember him now…a little, at least. I can't picture his face anymore, but he was the young man with violet eyes she was traveling with._

The cool morning air still held the freshness of the night. It was mainly older residents of the town or mothers that occupied the streets and stores. There were a few children, but they all looked sleepy and reluctant to be out running errands with their parents. The workers had already left to start building the forth and final protective wall around the new extension of Woodley, though a few who had been sent back to carry forgotten supplies to the worksite hurried toward the exit.

_She really didn't seem to like him when she came to Woodley alongside those three off-worlders with news the oracle had been killed. She didn't even give him a nickname…but she was gone for so many months. She must have come to care for him._

_But…is she sad because she had to leave her friends or did something happen to him? She usually isn't so forlorn for extended periods of time, even if she's lonely. I'm start to think this Faize might be…dead._

She shook her head slightly as she walked down the busy main street of Woodley. _She won't tell me anything, but she's still like a younger sister to me. That, and she's finally growing up. She's stayed the same for more than ten years, but now she's finally started to look her age. Not only that, she's growing even faster psychologically. It's like whatever stagnated her growth just disappeared._

She was pulled from her thoughts when she caught sight of an unusual twosome entering the town. A smiling young woman with bright…_blue _hair and unusual clothes lead her counterpart, chattering cheerfully while he glowered, looking impatient and annoyed with her.

They stood out from the other villagers not only because of their unusual attires, but also because of the unique hair and eye colors. They were also taller, but it was their unusual ears that summoned her attention most.

Others noticed the tall, imposing man dressed in dark colors with a scythe over his shoulder and walked around him at a distance of several feet. The children that had been ready to doze off quickly became alert and hid behind their mother's skirts. Even the shady sorceress' pigeons flew away at the sight of him.

He had silver hair and cold amber eyes. The way his hair covered his left eye made her wonder if he still had both eyes. Judging by the scar on his face and the others on his arms and chest, there was a good chance he didn't. Some of his clothes were tattered and the blood on his scythe completed the appearance of a Grim Reaper.

Though most looked away quickly at the sight of him, she found herself staring. Though scythes weren't unheard of on Lemuris, the glowing blade on his was perfectly clean, unlike the rest of the weapon. It didn't seem to be made of metal, either. There was no way such a weapon could have been made on Lemuris.

_They're off-worlders. They aren't from this planet. _She though, a slight shadow of worry forming though it was accompanied by curiosity. Judging by appearance and demeanor, they were polar opposites. Worst of all, they turned and started walking up the steep hill on the left of the entrance. Lutea winced, glancing at the extremely tall man and crossed her fingers they'd stop at the first house on the hill.

_No such luck. _She thought dryly with a grimace as they passed it. There were only two houses on the hill; their destination was confirmed. _They're going to my house…what could two people like that possible want with me? Or worse…what if they're here because of Lymle…?_

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arumat P. Thanatos trudged behind the maddeningly cheerful girl Commander Gaghan has sent to meet with Lymle Lemuri Phi. In a final attempt to force him to go along, the Commander had selected the most defenseless employee he had under his command. Her name was Rose, and she'd been posted at the Exploration Base on Aeos until leaving with him and several others to return to Eldar in its final days.

Though an asset at the base, she has absolutely no experience with any type of weapon and needed a bodyguard for the trip from the Eldarian settlement to Woodley. She'd skipped merrily most of the way while he exterminated the countless Mana Yetis, Stone Golems, Man-Eating Trees, and every other hostile creature that blocked the path.

"Is it really necessary for me to accompany you this far?" Arumat asked dryly as they approached the front door of the small house.

"Of course!" Rose replied cheerfully, tucking a stray strand of her neon blue hair behind her ear. "But don't bring that scythe in with you, it's _way_ to scary," she said, using the statement as a reason to launch into a lecture. "And I'm sure if you wore something other than those old, tattered military uniforms you wouldn't scare as many people. A proper hair cut probably wouldn't hurt, either. Let the world see _both_ your pretty amber eyes! I'm sure everyone would like to know you really do have two, instead of wondering if that awful, messy hair of yours' is some kind of makeshift eye patch."

"Mind your own business," he grumbled dismissively, wincing at her adjectives for the umpteenth time. He'd much rather have any use of the word 'pretty' eradicated from any description of him.

She knocked on the door, bobbing back and forth on her heels while he placed his scythe by the door and deactivated the blade. The laser disappeared in a flash and she cast him a skeptical look, frowning slightly while they waited.

"If you can just turn that thing off, why didn't you do that when we entered the town? Do you like looking creepy and making small children run?" she accused as footsteps from within neared the door.

He crossed his arms, remaining silent as the door was pulled open.

Rose, regaining her perpetual smile, waved over energetically at the older woman who opened the door. "Good morning, miss! My name is Rose Niketa Hanabi of the Eldarians. My escort, Captain Arumat P. Thanatos, and I have come to see Lymle Lemuri Phi."

The woman seemed momentarily distracted by the formalities and long names, but didn't seem ill at east. She was about to greet them politely when her eyes strayed from Rose and to Arumat, who hung back behind the cheerful girl. Her eyes widened and she stumbled over her response as she took an involuntary step back.

"G-good morning…," she stammered, reluctant to leave the doorway. "If I may ask, what do you want with Lymle?"

"We just want to talk to her. Our race is forming settlements south of this region and we were hoping to discuss the matter with her," Rose explained reassuringly. "…And don't be bothered by Arumat's he's surprisingly, um, amiable," she half lied, laughing nervously.

"Is…that so…," she trailed off, still surveying them suspiciously.

"That's correct," Rose said with a nod.

"I suppose I'll go get her..," Lutea's mother trail off, stepping out of the doorway. "Please come in."

"Thank you!" Rose replied over zealously.

She started it but quickly noticed Arumat wasn't following, and reached up and pulled her companion toward the table. He kicked the door closed behind them, causing it to slam without much thought. Getting used to manual doors was reason enough to dislike the small, cold, and snowy village.

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Lymle Lemuri Phi looked up when Lutea's mother knocked on the door. "Lym! You have…visitors."

"'Kay," she said as she hurried over the door, inwardly wondering why there was such trepidation in her voice.

Lutea's mother scurried down the hall, away from the main room as soon as she came out. Lymle walked into the room curiously, surprised to see a smiling Eldarian forcing Arumat to sit next to her at the table. She blinked, feeling a faint sadness return to the back of her mind.

"Mattie…?"

Rose looked up instead and waved, once again, too energetically. "Miss Phi! I'm glad we were able to find you so quickly!"

She jumped up and began to bounce over, extending a hand toward Lymle. "It's nice to meet you! My name is Rose Niketa Hanabi. I'm an Eldarian working under Commander Gaghan, our leader, to help built the new towns here on Lemuris…and I was one of Faize's friends!"

Lymle froze, heart falling in a moment. She stared up at the Eldarian clad in what she recognized to be a researcher's uniform, but didn't move for a long moment after she fell silent. Rose blinked, expression concerned before becoming embarrassed.

"Oh, wait, 'shaking hands' is an Earthling gesture, correct? I kind of just fell into the habit after working with them for so long on Aeos. Is it part of your culture as well…?"

"No, but it's fine," Lymle replied, shaking her hand. "Call me Lym, 'kay?"

"Okay, Lym. So, do you know him well? Faize was always very kind. A lot of people were surprised he decided to work with Mr. Maverick instead of staying at the Exploration Base," she chattered brightly, completely unaware of Lymle's dark look and Arumat's trademark 'shut up, you idiot' glare.

"It was his first mission out Eldarian space though, so I suppose I can't blame him for wanting to see more worlds rather than staying at the base all the time," she continued thoughtlessly.

Arumat, in a surprisingly, uncharacteristically considerate gesture, interjected to cease Rose's rant. "Get on with business," he said flatly.

Rose glanced between them, finally realizing she'd made an thoughtless mistake. She bit her lower lip and return to the table. She sat down beside Arumat, who waited impatiently with his arms crossed. Lymle followed with less enthusiasm.

"Well, as you probably know," Rose began when Lymle took the seat across from them, "the Eldarians are immigrating to Lemuris and building settlements in the regions far south of Triom. We've come across a lot of surprisingly advanced structures, similar to Alanaire Citadel, but we lack information on their origins. Furthermore, there will be many towns populated strictly by civilians with no affiliation to the government officials working under Commander Gaghan. These towns will be difficult for the Eldarians that don't anything about the land, resources, and dangers. There are a lot of creatures on this continent, which is a bit of an impediment to colonization."

"Can't soldiers like Mattie protect them? With your machines, building towns should be simple, 'kay?"

"It would be," Rose agreed with a nod, "but Supreme Commander Gaghan has made the decision to abandon all of our technology and machinery so that our race may start anew on Lemuris. It's also to protect to the planet. It's our legendary utopia and we want to learn from the mistakes that were made on Eldar. That's why we're hoping for cooperation from some Lemurisians to help the citizens out. You were one of the first we wanted to contact to see if you'd be interested in such a position since you know about us and our situation. I'm afraid we wouldn't have much to offer in return, though a house in one of said settlements would be a given…if you didn't mind living amongst off-worlders."

Lymle listened, taking in all the information without much surprise. She remembered Edge discussing something with Arumat along such lines. "Who else have you asked?"

"No one yet. The current Oracle is amongst our potential candidates, though we don't want to distract from any of this town's needs," Rose added.

"I could probably do something like that for a while…but I'd have to think about it, 'kay?"

"Of course! Take your time making a decision. If you don't want to leave so quickly after only being home a few months, that's alright too. It's a pretty far trip, but I'm sure if you want to wait a while, a escort other than Captain Thanatos could be arranged."

"I wouldn't need an bodyguard…," Lymle paused, glancing at Arumat. "You're going somewhere, Mattie?"

"I'm leaving Lemuria," he said impassively.

"Where are you going? Lymle asked, unsurprised by his lack of willingness to divulge even simple, conversational information.

"The governments of En II and Earth have more use of a soldier than peaceful emigrants. I intend to be fighting for the remainder of my days," he replied shortly, leaning away from the table. "And would you go tell your friend to stop eavesdropping at the front door?"

"Eavesdropping…?" Rose asked skeptical, casting an unbelieving look at the ex-Thirteenth Independent Armored Division soldier.

Almost as though on cue, the front door opened and Lutea enter with her arms full of groceries, expression guilty and embarrassed. Rose stared then nodded approvingly in Arumat's direction. Lutea greeted them half heartedly as she walked over and placed the bags on the kitchen counter.

"You knew I was there the whole time, Sir?" Lutea asked hesitantly.

Arumat ignored the question and stood, cold and steely gaze meeting Lymle's for a moment. "If you have any questions about the settlement or the proposal, Rose will be at the inn until morning when we leave."

"We have to go already?" Rose questioned disappointedly.

He headed to the door without a word and Rose followed reluctantly. She turned around and bowed her head to them politely, apparently still unsure of the proper gesture. "Thank you for having us. Please contemplate our offer."

"You're both welcome to come by for dinner later. We eat around six," Lutea suggested as Arumat opened the door, sending a gust of cool air blowing in.

"That would be wonderful!" Rose said, enthusiasm returning. She poked - literally poked - Arumat expectantly. "Can we? Please?"

"Do what you want," he said brusquely. "It's not like I can claim to outrank the likes of you now."

"Wonderful! I'll be at the inn if you want me to help cook," Rose said musically.

Arumat disappeared out the door and grabbed his scythe, immediately making the blade reappear. Lymle thought she heard a flock of birds fly away at the sight of it, but she couldn't be sure. Rose bid them goodbye before following him out.

"You really _do _like to look scary, don't you?" she asked while closing the door behind them.

Lutea spun on her heel as footsteps hurried down the hallway. Lymle reframed form sighing; if there was one bad habit Lutea's mother had that was rubbing off on her friend, it was being nosy. She'd never paid much attention to the natural small-town trait until traveling with Edge, Reimi, and Faize and visiting so many cities and metropolises.

"Who _were_ those people?" Lutea asked, sounding genuinely concerned as her mother entered the room. "That man with the scythe looked like death incarnated!"

"That's Mattie. He'd probably like that you got that name right, 'kay? He doesn't talk much but he's fine, 'kay?"

Lutea looked unconvinced. "Is he some sort of soldier or assassin? He looks like he's been through a thousand wars with all those scars."

"He was a solider. I've never met Rosie before, but she…," Lymle paused, rather sadly. "She knew Faize, one of Edgie' friends… If he trusted her, I can too."

"Is that the kind of people you were traveling with…?" Lutea's mother asked warily as she entered the room to help put the groceries away.

"No, it's just Mattie who's really creepy, 'kay?"

Lutea shuddered. "I remember you mentioning that name…I can't say I pictured someone like _that _to hold such a cute nickname though…"

"I've never seen someone so menacing in any town before…," her mother seconded.

Lutea turned to face her, voice growing quiet. "But…what were they asking you to do?"

Lymle stood, feeling tired despite the early house. "I'll explain everything later, 'kay? They're all good people, so you don't have to worry."

Lutea and her mother exchanged worried looks as the young symbologist left the room and headed toward the bedroom. She felt Lutea's gaze follow her as she pushed the door open and disappeared within. She closed the door immediately and sank to the floor, leaning against it.

_Helping the Eldarians…Faize's people…his friends. _She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _The people he was willing to lay his very own life down to protect. The reason…he left…the reason, even in the very end, he sacrificed himself._

"I think…the choice is pretty clear…," she said softly to herself. "I already know…what'd you want me to do…"

_I'm sure…if I really can help them…that'd count as 'acting my age.'_

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Final Hikari: Okay, explanation time! First of all, Rose isn't an original character. And if she was, I'd have given her a cooler name. Do they even have roses on Eldar? XD You might remember her from the Exploration Base on Aeos where she was, "Rose, Smiling Eldarian." She'd always fuss over Faize (and later Edge) telling them not to catch colds and whatnot. XD

Arumat: The name doesn't sound familiar.

Final Hikari: -.- Well, load one of my older TLH files and see for yourself, _no yo? _Also, I have three discrepancies with this chapter. First of all, the flashback. I said it before and I'll say it again: I don't like my flashback. DX Second, I wrote the scene with Arumat and Rose around…five AM in a car with only about four hours of sleep, which is why my imagination conjured a 'shut up, you idiot' look. XD I really laughed when he called Edge something along the lines of a _stubborn_ idiot and not just an idiot. XD

Arumat: …

Final Hikari: Third of all, is it just me, or does 'off-worlders' sound discriminatory? XD In this world of political correctness, who knows. Not that we have to worry about offending any aliens in this society…XD

Arumat: …-glances around- …Why isn't anyone else here?

Final Hikari: Your guess is as good as mine, Mattie.

Arumat: -.- You're not a child, why use such immature nicknames?

Final Hikari: I really adore referring to you as Mattie. -evil laugh- It's just such a cute, rude way to annoy you. :D Some of Lymle's nicknames creep me out a bit but 'Mattie' is just co cwute. XD


	6. Where Words Have No Meaning

Final Hikari: Yikes. I had an "inattentive author" moment last chapter. XD

Lymle: What'd you do?

Final Hikari: I forgot to type a paragraph, thinking that my neck hurt from looking down at a notebook too long, then had to flip a few pages back when I realized I did. XD It took several minutes to find…

Lymle: …That isn't very interesting, 'kay?

Final Hikari: No, but it's true. And I hope I didn't overuse Lymle's "'kay" in this chapter, but I kind of think it's impossible. -.- She often uses two 'kays if her statements are too long. -twitches in frustration- But I would like you all to give a round of applause to my editor, The Grammar Goddess, the Love Doctor…Dr. Meh!

Dr. Meh: You forgot Public Enemy #1. -hides from the people with pitchforks and torches-

Lymle: …The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope, 'kay?

Final Hikari: I got to include the infamous KIA notification in this chapter though! It would have been more dramatic in my Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, All That's Left Behind, but at least I finally got to use one. XD

Lymle: …That's creepy, 'kay?

Final Hikari: How so?

Lymle: That you look so happy about it.

Final Hikari: XD Uh, time to start the chapter…

Utopia

Chapter V

Where Words Have No Meaning

_The air in Eleyna Farrance's small hideout was tense and mixed with disappointment. Meracle stood by the 'Holy Maiden's' bed, still sulking about the fact that the real woman hadn't lived up to her storybook's projection, rather than the situation. Reimi sat at the older woman's side, unable to do anything else to alleviate her symptoms. Bacchus had not been permitted to enter, as he was too 'hulking,' as Lady Eleyna herself put it, to come in._

_It was Edge and Faize, however, that concerned her the most. Reimi quelled their argument, managing to scold them both as though they were children despite the serious matter that was being disagreed upon. They stood on opposite sides of the room, refusing to acknowledge each other. They both looked dissatisfied, Edge more so than Faize. The unusual silence was somewhat maddening, but no one came forward to break it._

_Lymle yawned, feeling tired though she had ridden on Bacchus' arm for most of the trip they had made on foot. They'd reached Tropp in the afternoon; after looking around the city and investigating, they encountered Lady Eleyna. After hearing her explanation of the situation and witnessing her augury, night had fallen._

_She sympathized with both Faize's frustration and Edge's reluctance to act, but she was also slightly relieved they weren't leaving for the Purgatorium that night. The moon was rising outside and the idea of getting some sleep was quite tempting. It was too late for more fighting._

_She closed her eyes and felt her head lolling backward as her body relaxed and her breathing regulated. The omnipresent tension in the air kept her from falling asleep as easily as usual. Thoughts kept plaguing her mind, only complicating things further. Almost as though on cue, a few minutes after she finally began to calm, Faize stood and started towards the door. The scraping sound of the stone door opening woke her up instantly._

_"Where are you going?" Reimi asked, expression unchanging but tone carrying an edge of suspicion._

_"I'm just going to get some fresh air, it's stagnant in here," he said wearily, glancing at her slightly untrusting look. "I'm not foolish enough to go off alone, you don't have to worry. But if you still don't believe me, I'll leave my sword here."_

_Reimi looked away darkly. "There might still be monsters out there…take it with you. We trust you," she replied simply._

_He pushed the heavy stone door open and departed without another word. Lymle looked up at the others, though they all remained silent. She found herself waiting rather impatiently for some kind of reaction, but nothing changed._

_She yawned a second time and rubbed her eyes sleepily before stretching and standing up. She walked over to where Edge stood on the far side of the room, grabbed his hand, and pulled him expectantly towards the door._

_"Edgie, will you open the door for me? It's too heavy and I wanna go outside too, 'kay?"_

_"…Sure," he said flatly as he followed her to the door. "Don't go off alone anywhere. Stay with Faize."_

_"I won't, 'kay?" she replied simply as he pulled the door open for her. Despite all the noise, Eleyna remained unconscious._

_Edge was careful to remain out of view as he closed it behind her. She stepped out and was hit with the cool, fresh night air immediately. She took a deep breath, enjoying the strange salty smell of the ocean. On Lemuris, she'd only ever seen freshwater lakes. They didn't have a "salty sea breeze" like so many of the cities on Roak did, nor did they experience tides and waves._

_She glanced around, momentarily distracted by the feeling that she was being watched. She shook her head slightly and dismissed it as her imagination. Her gaze instead settled on Faize, who sat by the water's edge, staring out over the ocean. She walked across the length of the small shore unhurriedly and stopped a few feet away from him._

_"Faize?" she questioned, tone impassive as ever._

_He glanced over his shoulder, looking slightly surprised to see her. "What are you doing up so late, Lymle? Weren't you asleep?"_

_"I wasn't sleeping," she said simply, deciding for reasons she couldn't identify not to dryly inform him that he'd woken her up._

_She took a few steps forward and sat down beside him, watching as the waves gently flowed up onto the sand and ebbed back into the ocean. The sound was calming, though Faize's expression was still uncharacteristically distant and disappointed. He didn't say anything, leaving her the unenviable job of starting the conversation._

_"You sounded really mad at Edgie, 'kay? But it's kind of too late to go anywhere, anyway, 'kay?"_

_"You can see the situation as plainly as I can. I don't have to explain myself any further than I already have," he said flatly._

_"…I understand," she agreed after a pause. "Edgie hasn't been himself recently, but you've been acting weird too, 'kay? Edgie's sad about what happened on that planet, but why are you? Cuz when you're sad, you look really pathetic, 'kay?"_

_Faize shook his head, looking slightly bemused. "Pathetic, you say? I can't claim that I've ever been told that before."_

_"Are you worried about something?" Lymle asked innocently._

_She frowned when he didn't respond and tugged on his cloak impatiently._

_"I heard you," he said, but she didn't release him. "I just…," he paused, looking as though he was wondering what talking to a child would accomplish. "I have an lingering feeling of foreboding. It's as though a dark cloud is hovering over me and haunting me at all times."_

_"Why?" she asked when he fell silent._

_"I don't think it's entirely justified," he admitted, "but other than that encounter with the man from the Thirteenth Independent Armored Division, I haven't been able to contact Eldar, the Exploration Base on Aeos, or any of my old co-workers in the Planetary Research Organization since we left Cardianon."_

_"He was really creepy, 'kay?"_

_"The Thirteenth doesn't have a very good reputation for its manners," he acknowledged. "The Calnus wasn't fully functional when we left that alternate Earth, so I couldn't get in touch with them then, and all the systems were put into sleep mode as soon as we landed on Roak. I didn't think much of it, though I probably will be penalized for not submitted a progress report on time, until that attack. Their activities aren't any of my business since I'm not part of the military, never mind its most elite group. But that foreign ship that attacked us was being chased by Commander Gaghan's direct command if a Thirteenth was deployed."_

_"Who's that?" Lymle asked, listening but not pretending to sound interested, because she wasn't. He was terrible at getting to the point without a long winded explanation preceding it._

_"Commander Gaghan is the national representative of Eldar and controls all of our forces. He's been the leader of all things Eldarian for longer than I've been alive. The Eldarian military consists of twelve battalions, each composed of a set of platoons designed A through Z. However, the Thirteenth Independent operates on its own, conducting special missions under the governmental decree of Commander Gaghan. They're often known as the 'Death Squadron' since they're characterized by heavy causalities and fatalities. Eldar doesn't participate in interplanetary wars and all the civilizations are united under one government. Furthermore, we only have sixty more years on Eldar before the planet becomes uninhabitable…which means I'll probably be alive to see the day."_

_Lymle listened as he explained, though half of what he said made little or no sense to her. "So…you mean your home is like Edgie and Reirei's?"_

_"The situations are comparable," he said after hesitating momentarily, remembering who he was talking to and deciding not to go into the less than subtle differences in their situations. "Both races are staring at certain destruction if nothing is done. That's why I joined our organization that handles planetary exploration."_

_"If you're worried that something bad happened to your home or to your family, Lutie told me to pray, 'kay? If you do that, you can rest instead of worrying all the time, 'cause that won't help anyone. I think just yelling really loudly helps more, though."_

_"Adults can't forget about their problems that easily, Lymle," he said flatly. "Though I suppose the saying 'innocence is bliss' does have some merit, if that's the case."_

_"Your mommy and daddy wouldn't want you to be worried all the time, 'kay?"_

_"I don't have a mother or father, nor any siblings," he said simply._

_Lymle looked up at him strangely. "But everyone has a mom and dad, 'kay?"_

_Faize shook his head. "Most Eldarians don't have families. It's just the way it is there; it's all very common. You probably wouldn't understand if I explained. Lemuris is too underdeveloped to have anything comparable."_

_They both fell silent, and though she hated to admit it, she didn't understand indeed. How couldn't he have a family? An unpleasant memory returned to her, but she blinked her eyes to dismiss it. However, the sentiment remained on the forefront of her mind._

_"All the monsters in the demon realm…," she trailed off, reluctant to discuss the topic with him. She'd never talked about it with anyone but her grandfather and Lutie before. "They didn't have mommies or daddies. But you're not a monster, 'kay? You're a big dummy, but not a monster, 'kay?"_

_"It's a pity Edge and Reimi can't agree with that…the first part, that is."_

_"Edgie and Reirei don't think you're a monster. That's just silly, 'kay? Why would they?"_

_"You heard what Reimi said in Astral. Earthlings who undergo modifications to withstand harsh environments or are born through DNA management are viewed as monsters…by their peers and themselves."_

_"But…what do they do? What do they change that's such a big deal?"_

_"You wouldn't understand," he repeated._

_"Tell me. Not knowing doesn't make any sense, so how could knowing make less sense?"_

_"It's too foreign of a concept on Lemuris for you to understand," he said firmly. "…And there's absolutely no logic behind that reasoning."_

_"What Reirei said didn't make sense, but I'm sure I'd understand if you explained it too, 'kay?" she said stubbornly._

_"Do you __**really **__want to know?" he asked, resigned to having to make a pointless explanation._

_She nodded quickly in reply. "I do, 'kay?"_

_"On Eldar, the sun is extremely close to the planet. We used to be the fifth planet from the sun, but in the next few months we'll be the fourth. An uninhabitable planet will be swallowed within the year. All of the land is hot and dry and the area around the equator is too scorching to be populated now. By the use of carefully built domed cities, the people are able to survive. However, in the older cities that aren't protected as efficiently by the heat shields, the people have to stay indoors during the day and can only come out at night. It's all very expensive and difficult to maintain, since most of the repair work has to be done outside of the dome's protection. The crews have to be extremely careful and use costly equipment. Commander Gaghan has managed to make such procedures mainly standard."_

_"They sleep during the day and wake up at night…?" Lymle asked, coking her head questioningly. "That's really weird, 'kay? Did you live somewhere like that?"_

_"Only for short periods of time," he replied. "I grew up in one of the newer, capital cities, where day and night are practiced the same way as on Earth and Lemuris."_

_"It's still really weird, kay? But what does that have to do with not having a mom or dad?"_

_"I'm getting to that. The population has been greatly diminished despite all the government's efforts. The punishing conditions make normal acclimation and evolution too slow to be effective. Several hundred years ago, they decided to biologically engineer children through DNA management, using personality attributes the scientists considered favorably. The process is more common than children born of parents are now."_

_"…So you were born in a lab? That sounds lonely, 'kay?"_

_"It isn't, despite the stereotypical viewpoint people from underdeveloped planets hold. The facilities are comparable to hospitals, laboratories, or even daycares for the youngest. We're all raised under the government's care, given good educations and training, then assisted in starting a career. Though that has never changed, as time went on and Eldar's degradation worsened, the more recent generations underwent more modification."_

_"Like what?"_

_"We're changed so we're able to withstand the harsh environment. Apparently, Earth has yet to master such a procedure. We're different, and psychological development difference set us apart, but more than half our population is like this. Natural children with parents often don't excel and achieve as quickly because they receive less education in their childhood and are spoiled more. It may sound unusual, but even by Earthling definitions, it isn't cruel. People grow up with friends and futures, so I can't fully see why it's viewed so negatively on Earth. Being underdeveloped scientifically and culturally can only justify so much." _

_"That's 'cause people automatically condemn what they don't understand. That's what Grandpa always said, 'kay? And he knew everything."_

_"I suppose…," Faize paused, contemplating the saying. "It does seem to be a generally unexplored practice on Earth. We have technology thousands of years old that they're just recently developing on Earth."_

_"Grandpa had a better way of saying it though. It wasn't in our language though."_

_"__**Damnant quod no intelligunt**__?" he quoted questioningly. "Is that it?"_

_Lymle blinked, frowning slightly. "How do you know that? Only Grandpa said that, 'kay? No one else on Lemuris knew what language it was."_

_"It was in one of the transmissions we received from the first planetary exploration team that was deployed over a thousand years ago. Oddly, recent study reflects that language was once an Earthling dialect."_

_"How'd you say it again?"_

_  
"__**Damnant quod no intelligunt**__," he repeated._

_"That's what Grandpa always said when people got scared of Cerberus and treated me meanly," she paused, expression thoughtful. "But I guess never having a mommy or daddy is better than losing them when you're little."_

_Neither of them spoke, though the silence was peaceful and no longer strained. Faize's expression was more calm instead of worried and frustrated. Although her expression didn't betray it, Lymle also felt oddly…happier? She wasn't sure if such a strong word defined what she felt. Though she was sure that she was sleepy._

_She yawned tiredly and contemplated the situation. They'd be leaving as soon as Lady Eleyna awoke and told them how to enter the Purgatorium. That could be any time, so there was little chance of getting much sleep, especially with the tense air in Eleyna's hideout._

_Lymle scooted closer to Faize and rested her head against his arm as her eyes dropped closed._

_"Lymle?" he questioned, glancing down at her with a surprised look, though it was quickly replaced by a slight frown. "If you're tired, you should go inside and sleep. It's cold out here and the tide will be rising soon."_

_"I just want a short nappy…," she trailed off with another yawn. "Edgie's arm makes a better pillow, though… But everyone in there is so mad…"_

_"…How could his arm be more comfortable when he wears armor and a gauntlet?" he asked, momentarily distracted. "Are you listening?"_

_She didn't reply, deciding to let him think she was already asleep. A cool gust of wind shook the leaves in the trees that grew on the cliff above the shore. Suddenly, without warning, the sound of a sneeze from that direction resonated._

_Faize glanced over his shoulder suspiciously, hand flying to the hilt of his rapier. His expression became cold and calculating, reflecting his readiness to fight. The silence resumed, and though a little cautious about another attack from the Church of Sydonai, he released the sword and resigned to being stuck as her victim pillow. But he was definitely waking her up within the hour._

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Rose Niketa Hanabi scratched her head, starting to feel frustrated. She'd looked all around the inn and the rest of Woodley, but she couldn't find Arumat anywhere. Their two separate rooms were side by side and she hadn't heard him leave, either. The more she thought of it, it did seem like him not to want to attend a pleasant family-like dinner, though his disappearance bothered her. He looked out of place, as a seemingly heartless soldier, in the warm, inviting home.

What bothered her was that he was nowhere to be found in the whole town. She'd returned to her hotel room after the search, rather dissatisfied. _He better not have left me here…he seems to be loyal to Commander Gaghan, so I don't think he'd go against orders and return without me… But I don't know the man at all…_

She sat down on the edge of the bed in the surprisingly large inn room and heaved a disappointed sigh. She reached into the pocket of her uniform's skirt and pulled her small, portable computer out. She'd only have a few more days, a week at most, with the device.

She turned it on and the touch sensitive holographic screens appeared. She kicked her boots off and leaned back on the bed, glad for the warmth the fireplace provided for the room. Even though it was spring, Woodley was a great deal cooler than where the Eldarians were building settlements. The cold temperatures were nothing like what she'd experienced all her life on Eldar.

Most of the Eldarian networks were destroyed along with the planet, leaving only the military and government lines open, most of which had also been disconnected. So a solitary public line had been opened, low security and accessible by anyone, on any console; it was formed for the lists of obituaries.

The time had come sixty years early and many had decided to perish along with their planet, either out of stubbornness or because they decided to aid in the evacuation, taking positions and acting as martyrs. More died during the first Phantom attack, quickly followed by a second attack on the civilians near Aeos.

The final deduction of their race's population was within the military. Almost every member who hadn't already laid his or her life down to protect the civilians from the Phantoms or was incapacitated participated in the attack on Nox Obscurus. Countless Eldarians, Morphus, and Earthlings were slaughtered in the operation. Too much happened too quickly, and it was impossible to list all the deaths. Even several months later, the lists were still updated every day.

The civilian fatalities were listed first, so citizens with friends and family members with uncertain fates could know the truth. Most of the deaths were listed in chronological order, leaving the soldiers and combatants who took part in the Nox Obscurus operation to be listed last. She knew all the people who had died working at the Exploration Base on Aeos; only another three employees had left with her alongside Commander Gaghan. However, her prayers for one of her closest friends hadn't been heard nor answered.

He hadn't been at the base or anywhere near Eldar during the repeated tragedies. She'd been relieved to know he wasn't involved; the escape from Eldar had been turned into a suicide march. When Commander Gaghan told her before the Nox Obscurus Operation that he was still with the Earthling captain, she was sure that he'd be safe and coming with them to Lemuris.

She opened the network and went to the obituary list. She went over to the previous month's updates and quickly found the page. She went down and toward the end of the document, found his name, and let the now familiar sadness settle over her.

_Faize Sheifa Beleth - Killed in Action._

She still remembered when she first reach the announcement. Her knees had turned into water and she'd staggered backward, almost collapsing in the middle of the busy computer room. She'd tried contacting Gaghan to learn what happened unsuccessfully for a week afterward.

It just didn't make sense to her; there was no information on how or what happened and even when she did finally talk to the Commander, he wouldn't tell her anything. Even the classification of "killed in action" didn't make sense. Despite his extensive combat training, he wasn't part of the military. Additionally, when the Calnus was deployed in the offensive against Nox Obscurus, its crew of eight included Arumat P. Thanatos of the Thirteenth Independent Armored Division, not Faize. He wasn't with the Calnus' crew when the operation began, nor was he with any of the Eldarian forces, though he was still credited with working with Earth's SRF.

Whether the whole situation was a simple confusion of information or a conspiracy, she didn't know. Arumat refused to explain, though for reasons differing from the Commander's. She was interested in meeting Lymle Lemuri Phi and accepted the mission immediately, though she had a slight alternative motive.

However, she was starting to doubt her plan of trying to learn more about what happened from another of the Calnus' crew. She hadn't realized it at first, but she quickly realized after Arumat told her of how the young girl's face fell at the mere mention of Faize's name.

She'd done her best not to let her smile falter since the start of S.D. 11, but the task was becoming taxing, even for her. The amount of death and suffering that had been inflicted upon their race was astonishing, but out of all the people she knew or grew up with that were gone, she couldn't accept that Faize was one of them.

All of her memories of him were positive; when they were young and still in the education system, he was always dedicated to learning and determined to excel. He wanted to have a career in a profession that would help Eldar and delay their sixty year doomsday. His quickly developing knowledge of engineering had summoned Commander Gaghan's attention and helped him easily land a position in their planetary exploration organization.

It had surprised and disappointed her that after all those years of work, that he'd leave and join another faction during their first mission out of the Eldar System. She couldn't blame him though; he'd have been stuck on Aeos working under the Commander for months. It would have been a long time before he'd have the chance to see any other worlds. Earth's SRF was smaller, newer, and had less ranks. Working as one of the Calnus' crew far outscored a mere planetary researcher's job.

She stared sadly at the screen for a few more moments before closing the page and turning the device off. She reached over to the over-ear translators on the night stand and slipped them on. She wasn't fluent in the Lemurisian language and still needed the machines to translate words she didn't recognize.

_It's still over an hour early…but perhaps I should go over to Lymle's…she might not want to talk to me if I'm alone, but it doesn't seem like she knew Arumat very well in the first place… _A slight smile came over her lips when she remembered her nickname for him. _" 'Mattie'. I suppose there are advantages of being small…he'd be furious if I or any other adult called him something other than "Captain Thanatos…"_

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Final Hikari: -falls over- That was quite a conversation. I didn't intend to do so many flashbacks that include both Faize and Lymle, especially when it comes to conversations, because I fail with a child's limited vocabulary and the sheer quantity of 'kays drive the perfectionist in me up a wall. But I decided to make an exception when I wrote this one back in April. (yes, I made you all wait two months so I don't stress about update days XD )

Faize: …That's a bit cruel to deprive your readers for such long stretches of time. They're all very kind to you in reviews after all.

Final Hikari: Yeah, but if I don't be a good author and do it this way there'll be random, unpredictable hiatuses that last months. T.T -clears throat- Anyway, as I was saying! I was leveling up on Roak, collecting platinum and trying to get cashmere from those darn harpies, while thinking, "Crap! Tomorrow's Monday, which means time to slack off during school with my Utopia notebook…but what am I going to write…?" Then the scene that became the majority of this chapter formed in my mind and since conversations are my favorite things to type, I had a clear idea for the entire progression of the conversation, and it ended up…being really long.

Lymle: Like your rants?

Arumat: Like your chapter titles?

Final Hikari: -.- Both of you, shut up. And my last few chapter titles form a statement if you read them in chronological order. XD

Faize: That's surprisingly crafty of you. Did you come up with those lines yourself?

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- Sadly, no. It's a quote. Though I'm sure I could dig through my poetry achieve and find something equally deep. But now for randomness! I really love writing in Arumat's POV. XD I wish I could do more. -sweat drop- I can also say that in addition to thinking I'd never write a Star Ocean fanfiction back in February, that I also never would have thought I'd prefer writing in the POV of a stoic Toothpick Syndrome Victim over a female character my age. I suppose years of writing in the POVs of various Mr. Toothpicks and being terrible with writing in children's POVs changed me.

Arumat: ….Toothpick…Syndrome…?

Final Hikari: XD Oh. Right. That's an explanation for another disclaimer, another day, and another update. If I get pokes for said explanation it'll come sooner.


	7. Even In Death

Final Hikari: -bangs head against computer desk for a reason other than sleep deprivation induced writer's block- God dammit…

Faize: What's wrong?

Final Hikari: Faaaiiiizzzeeee! I 'kay-ed to my editor! X.X It drives me up a wall to write _every other line_ because repetition of a single word is a big no-no in writing, but then I said it! -sobs- I never have used that expression, not even when I was six! It's _contagious!_

Faize: …

Final Hikari: C'mon, help me out here! You're not that much older than me! Don't you have some philosophical advice?

Faize: Well, I'd say trying to focus on the expansiveness of your vocabulary instead of just certain words situations force you to use or type numerous times. I can't say I've ever encountered such a dilemma, but I've never written any long non-progress-report compositions.

Final Hikari: -heavy sigh- I also could be more diversified in my weekly projects and work on two or three twice a week instead of obsessing with one for a week, then another the next week, and so on.

Faize: -nod- That is probably a good idea whether or not you have trouble with picking up the annoying sayings of characters.

Final Hikari: -yawn- Yeah, but I write too many genres to stay focused very long. XD I have medieval projects like Valkyrie's Favor, sci-fi ones like Xenosaga IV, and FFVII ones like All That's Left Behind. Utopia is just kinda odd because it so seamlessly combines both. O.O Really. I go from sci-fi terminology like subspace bubble particle whatsamagiggers to 'kay.

Faize: …"Whatsama" what…? -blank stare then shakes head- Shall I do the disclaimer?

Final Hikari: No need to ask! It's nice to have _cooperative _protagonists that volunteer to be helpful, 'kay?

…

Final Hikari: KYA! -bangs head- Noooooo! I said it!

Faize: -shakes head slightly- The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Final Hikari: -sobs- I said it _again!_

Utopia

Chapter VI

Even In Death

Arumat P. Thanatos leaned against the side of the building, waiting with his arms crossed and his scythe, for once, not slung over his shoulder. The villagers seemed to believe he was a hazard to public safety when he carried it around with him. The door to the inn opened and a blue-haired Eldarian exited. The stairs creaked beneath her feet and she hopped off, skipping the final stair. She was looking toward the fountain to her right and jumped when he reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

She whipped around and heaved a relieved sigh when she recognized him. "Captain Thanatos! You startled me."

"Obviously," he said flatly, crossing his arms. "Are you going back to that house?"

"Yeah," she replied with a nod. "But where were you? I looked everywhere for you and now you just appear out of nowhere."

"Don't say anything stupid again," he replied, ignoring her question uninterestedly. Did she honestly think he'd remain in the tiny town when there were enemies, albeit weak ones, to be defeated? "The purpose of this mission is to get that child's cooperation. Not to make her think that she'll be reminded of that lad every time she'll meet one of our race."

Rose looked away uncomfortably. "I'm sorry. I thought it might be a good idea to mention his name so she'd trust me more."

"That name will only bring bad memories back to most of that ship's crew. I couldn't care less one way or another, but I don't want that brat to become an impediment to my departure."

"Captain, were you there when he died? Can't you just tell me that? It couldn't be classified information…"

"If you were that lad's friend, you're better off not knowing the fate that befell him," he replied shortly.

"Was he involved in the operation at Nox Obscurus?" Rose interrogated stubbornly.

_Women… _He thought tiredly. _They're all so stubborn… _"You're better off not knowing," he repeated, "If there was still a military and exploration organization dividing Eldarian employees, that information would be inaccessible to someone of your rank. Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong."

"Then…he _was _involved in that operation?" Rose questioned, frowning slightly.

"Not how you're thinking," he retorted uninterestedly as he straightened and headed toward the town's exit. "If you want to remember that lad fondly, look to your memories and not the mistake he made in the end."

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Though the underground city was exposed to no sunlight, the artificial lighting systems were set to dim then darken during the hours of night to preserve the natural sleep cycles of the humans that resided there.

This particular metropolis was located beneath one of the least damaged regions beneath what was once called the United States of America, though the name was scantly used, especially after World War III. The name of the continent, North America, and the longitude and latitude coordinates were instead often used in communications.

It was one of the largest of the underground cities, and a branch of USTA headquarters had been built, to compensate for the great deal of representatives that had been forced to relocate to the bases on Earth since the untimely destruction of the Moonbase. There were countless small rooms that served as crew and employee quarters that were now full.

The rooms appointed to ex-SRF members, even captains such as Edge Maverick, were particularly small and contained only basic furnishing: a bed, window, desk with computer, and a closet full of uniforms. The walls were white and the floors dark blue metal. The screen over the window was closed, leaving the room completely dark and silent.

Since returning to Earth and experiencing a frustratingly noticeable decline in physical activities, Edge's sleeping patterns had become sporadic. He slept lightly and would often awake for no reason, so when the computer screen lit up and sounded a quiet _beep_, he stirred immediately. He opened his eyes and glanced around drowsily, instantly guessing from the size and direction of the light that it came from the computer.

He sat up and yawned, squinting to read the small text in the notice box that popped up. It appeared in the middle of the screen and had an unusually bland appearance. He kicked the thin sheet off of himself and stood up, stretching before heading over to the computer. He plopped down in the chair and frowned at the text.

_Tracking device signal received._

"What the hell…?" he muttered, tapping the box on the touch sensitive screen for more information. It changed to a familiar planetary map, similar to the one used aboard the Calnus. On the side of the screen, data filled the column explaining the trajectory, path, and speed of the massive object tat entering a warp jump. He clicked the down key on the keyboard to scroll down and see more of the information that was appearing.

The object, a very large one judging by the weight and mass estimates, seemingly appeared in warp space out of nowhere. It was en route to Planet Aeos, though it was moving incredibly slowly. It'd take nearly two weeks to reach its destination at the sluggish speed it was crawling along.

And apparently, a device that he'd programmed the computer to track was onboard. His frown deepened as he leaned back in the chair, mind blank to what he might be tracking that would go to Aeos. No Earth vessels were exploring the planet since the tragedy at the Eldarian Exploration Base.

In the months since S.D. 11 started, he and Reimi had done little more than participate in pro-UP3 meetings and debates within the USTA. The majority of the work was inside, occurred at a desk, related to endless legalities, and a great deal of memorizing said laws.

_Hmm. I'm sure Reimi would remember if I told her about anything I was tracking… _He glanced at the time displayed in the corner of the screen and began to weight his options. It was four forty-five in the morning, and for reasons he would never divulge to her, he knew she'd taken to waking up at four AM and showering immediately. She never took more than thirty minutes in a shower, and since there weren't any baths available to low ranking ex-SRF members like her, she'd probably be back in her room, clad only in a bathrobe, brushing her hair and selecting a clean uniform at that very moment.

_Well, if I call her now, she might get suspicious about my timing…it might seem like that I was spying on her and hurried back to my room. But it was coincidental…and if I link her to the feed, she'll see it just came up. _Deciding to risk the ease in which spying came with at the USTA building, he opened a comm and paged her computer. He waited, and after a few minutes, the page lit up and he saw Reimi seated at her desk. As anticipated, she wore a fluffy white bathrobe and held a hair brush in her right hand.

"You're up early," she remarked dryly. "What's up? Couldn't sleep again?"

"How'd you know?"

"Well, I'd suspect you were spying on me, but you have a terrible bed-head and it's sticking up every which way at the moment," she reasoned matter-of-factly. "It looks like you just tumbled out of bed without bothering to put a shirt on, either. So, what do you want?"

"Look at this feed alert that just came in," he said as he quickly typed the code and pressed 'enter' to send it to her.

"A feed? Don't tell me Commander Kenny's ship is already done with repairs…," she trailed off.

She looked down and typed a few things herself. The moment he assumed it loaded and opened, a dark look crossed her expression and her face seemed to pale. She placed her hairbrush aside and scanned the data.

"Edge, what _is _this? How did you get access to data on a warp this massive from…the Eldar System? The Morphus are supposed to be handling all this, the security encryption is too tight for either of us to access this and the USTA satellites aren't programmed to track warps that aren't ours or those of our allies."

"I didn't hack anything," he said defensively, "I just woke up to a notice saying a device I was tracking came into range."

Reimi's expression became yet graver. "Close that feed right now. Myuria or Bacchus can handle this, but it'll be a massive setback for the UP3 if Commander Kenny or anyone with a higher rank than him gets wind of this."

"But what _is_ it? You act like you know," Edge replied reluctantly, unwilling to close it. More data kept appearing though the ship's registration remained unknown. "What could I be tracking within that thing? Do you remember?"

She sighed heavily in response. "Just close it! Do it quickly and delete your history before all the data paths are verified. Then call Welch and tell her to alter the records. Trust me on this one."

"Alright, alright," he grumbled, scanning the information one final time to see if it revealed anything helpful as he closed the menu. He tapped a key to open the page for clearing history and looked to Reimi. "Now tell me what you suspect."

Her gaze dropped downward and she shifted uncomfortably. "Well, it's far larger than anything we could hope to create here on Earth. It's comparable to En II but all the dimensions and propulsion data doesn't match."

"And?" Edge questioned.

"By the shape and warp speed, it greatly resembled the Cardianon Mothership. That vessel was large as a planet, making it far too large to have a reputable warp speed. Their technology outscored the Eldarians' but even then, such a structure would be slow. It was a great deal lighter than the original, and I can't imagine why it was in the Eldar System, so none of those readings are an exact match. And…"

"_What?_" Edge asked sharply, suddenly on alert. "One of the Phantoms' last targets was Eldar, so…"

"The profile of this ship is like a saucer, but it's smaller. And theoretically speaking, it's impossible for it to be the Cardianon Mothership…because it was destroyed…"

Edge sat perfectly still, eyes widening as the puzzle pieces fell together. Reimi listed a few more statistics, explaining how it was implausible, but his mind was already reeling. _The Mothership…was absorbed into Nox Obscurus…and the only thing I'm tracking from then is…!_

He jumped up from his chair, startling Reimi. "It's the control unit!" he exclaimed, "The Sol's control unit! Which would mean…"

"No, Edge, wait! Calm down, you're jumping to conclusions," Reimi insisted. "Welch transferred all the data we collected on the Calnus to their computers. That included all the tracking cookies we left behind on all the Cardianon data terminals and the files Faize hacked into and downloaded for us. That includes comm and registry information, which could have resulted in an accidental track. For all we know it's some top-secret Morphus craft Earth wasn't told about or some giant Eldarian Dominion."

"All the Dominions already reached Lemuris. They're civilians crafts, so they wouldn't be joyriding to Aeos," Edge disagreed.

"Edge, be reasonable," Reimi pleaded. "Sit down and listen."

He met her stern gaze inflexibly and grudgingly took his seat when she said his name again. She seemed to wait for him to speak, but when he didn't, she began to clarify her theories.

"It's been nearly half a year since what happened on Nox Obscurus…if he was still alive, we'd know by now. He'd have contacted us immediately if he'd lived and had access to such technology. And…," she paused hesitantly, "I'm worried about you, Edge. What happened to Crowe and Faize is unforgettable, and I'm still grieving as well. I don't meant to sound cruel, but I feel like you're chasing phantoms."

"But you said it yourself, our satellites can't track foreign warps like that. The only reason it came up was because something inside the ship is being tracked. That Mothership was a part of Nox Obscurus until the very end."

"There's a chance it's the vessel of a developed species we aren't aware of," Reimi pointed out.

"If for no other reason, this should be looked into just in case there are still living Cardianon. It resembles one of their creations in design. I'm sure the Morphus could scan it to see if there are any life signs onboard. Have we gotten Myuria or Bacchus' new comm addresses?"

Reimi shook her head. "No. Bacchus is retiring and Myuria, though I believe she's still taking missions, hasn't contacted us. But if the Cardianon Mothership did escape Nox Obscurus, it would have been in terrible condition. It initiated a warp but it's hard to say if it can land…and even damaged, it's huge. It could cause serious, expansive damage to the continent or pollute an ocean."

_He was an engineer, he could fix all the Calnus' problems in a few minutes. Even though it's all foreign technology, it's been six months…it's a leviathan, but it's not like there weren't cities aboard that thing…_ He thought to himself, but decided not to bring it to Reimi's attention. She'd just find some way to disprove the idea.

"So it's definitely a problem in need of investigation," Edge affirmed smugly. "Who else do we have comm information to contact?"

Reimi winced, suddenly distracted. "Don't make me say it. He won't do it and I'm not contacting him."

"Has Arumat left Lemuris yet?" Edge asked, instantly knowing who she was referring to.

"I have no idea. I don't keep track of people like him. Do you have the updated comm code? It's all numbers and a few Eldarian characters. I got it from Welch, so I'd imagine you did too."

"I'll check. What other readings did you get off the object? You said it was lighter than the Cardianon Mothership, but saucer-shaped."

"It was a great deal smaller. In its original state, there's no way it could land on a planet. It'd just collide and destroy anything it came in contact with, but now it's so undersized it'll just do a lot of damage. But Edge, please don't get your hopes up about this. There was nothing at all that indicated the Mothership miraculously survived, nor anything that implied it'd suddenly be in the Eldar System. If you looked at the visual recording off the surviving ships, you wouldn't see a thing. You got out in the Sol before it collapsed in on itself but people would have seen if something similar happened to that thing."

"It stills needs investigation," Edge retorted.

"You're not even listening to me, are you?" Reimi asked, exasperation apparent. "I know that look of yours. Please, see the situation rationally."

"It's almost five. Shouldn't you finish getting dressed?"

"It couldn't be that late. And don't change the subject," Reimi said, glancing at the clock on her computer and gasping. "Edge! You're going to make me late…"

"For what?" Edge asked, trying to sound casual as she jumped from her chair and dashed over to the other side of the room, out of the camera's view. He leaned over in his chair and tried to move the screen to peer over, though a garment, probably her robe, was immediately thrown over the screen and camera on the computer. He frowned slightly, realizing not even her silhouette was visible as her footsteps moved around the room. _I bet she thought of that when buying that robe…making sure it had no transparency…_

"A conference! We're appearing for Commander Kenny, so don't be late! Go shower and get dressed before we're both in trouble."

"Right. So, what time is it on Lemuris? Any idea?"

"It's early evening or night. Wait until their morning and our midnight or whenever. I doubt you'll get anywhere though, but it's probably a better idea to try during the day. Submitting a request to Giotto for updated contact information would probably get better results."

"I'll get on that now. Later, Reimi!"

"Hey! Wait until after the con-"

The transmission was cut off on his side and the window closed. He stood up and a moment after he stepped away from the computer, an incoming comm alert popped up. _What happened to being late? _He thought dryly. _She never liked being dismissed though; not even when she was five. _He reopened it, slightly bemused, though he was already planning his next move.

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The poorly lit hallways were all but deprived of living things. Occasionally, a corpse in a battle-scarred hall would be seen. Arcturus VIII was astounding in size, even in a highly damaged version of its former glory.

Many of the outermost sectors and regions had been when it was engulfed and later expelled from Nox Obscurus. Subsequently, once it was back to floating through the vastness of space alone and unprotected, the damaged areas became pressurized and inaccessible. As time passed on, it only continued to decay. More massive chunks fell off, unable to withstand the harshness of space with all shields down.

The result was that the air-locked city-like areas in the middle of the saucer-shaped "planet" were chosen to be the innermost air-locked region. The exterior walls were reinforced to endure several weeks in space and a few days in warp space after the rest disintegrated. Nothing could be done on the outside, for their resources were lacking. Thus, it was the interior that was slowly strengthened to return to warp condition.

Regrettably, the seemingly endless coldsleep chambers were within the protected region; at least, many of them were. Mutated Cardianon who escaped from their icy prisons had been running rampant, undoing a great deal of the work done to the vessel. They were hostile and senseless, unable to discern friend from foe.

Their inability to muster up enough intelligence to work together did work to his advantage. Many of them retained basic motor skills such as the ability to speak, but expressed single-mindedness. They were easy enough to defeat, especially in condemned areas he could use symbology without worrying about damaging the ship. Though he never could have perceived the situation he was currently in all that time ago, part of him did regret some of the damage he and his friends had inflicted upon their first visit.

He carried his sword at the ready in his left hand while scanning the information on the computers screen before him. He typed a password in to verify the command and waited for the process to begin. _All right…the power supply going into this coldsleep chamber will be cut off in five minutes and diverted to the warp engines. The power to this entire sector will go out in two hours. That'll at least help prolong the secondary generator's time in warp space by a few more days._

_It's consuming quite a lot more than I expected to maintain warp, but things don't always go as according to theory. Crash landing will be inevitable, but as long as I keep deactivating these coldsleep chambers, I'm sure I'll reach Aeos. I can't fathom why this vessel returned to the Eldar System, but it's better than uncharted space._

He stepped away from the console and the door slid open, sending clouds of freezing cold air billowing across the floor. Though it would be warming up soon, the temperature was still low enough to numb his fingers and crystallize his breath as it touched the air. There were thirty pod-like beds in the cavernous room; they were set not to all open at once, so the odds wouldn't be thirty-against-one.

Some of the lids began to lift off the capsules, but the closest one to him and the exit had to break through a layer of ice to open. Instead, a massive scaled fist punched through the glass. He stepped back, ready to cast a symbol as it sat up and unfurled its wings.

The motion shattered the lid completely and sent shards raining as it stretched its dark green wings. It jumped into the air and crushed the metal pad beneath it as it landed. However, it scantly had time to do anything more when a dark sphere pulsing with red and purple energy appeared directly above its head.

The sphere expanded and engulfed the creature as more of the ominous orbs materialized and slammed into the creature as it howled and recoiled. The light and symbological circle in front of his hand disappeared while what remained of the beast collapsed to the floor, a puddle of its pale blue blood quickly forming around it.

Another beast emerged from a pod and began charging across the room in his direction. Its footsteps shook the floor as it propelled itself forward, but another symbological circle quickly reappeared before him. Accompanied by a gust of yet colder wind, half a dozen or more pointed daggers of ice emerged from the blue rings and rushed forth. The space between him and his adversary was dwindling when each one, with precise accuracy, plunged through the beast's chest.

The first passed through its shoulder, stunning it and causing it to stagger backward, as the rest finished the task. It fell backward in a pile on the floor; the stench of death was already beginning to permeate throughout the room, despite the cold temperature.

He was alerted by the sound of wings beating as a shadow passed over his head. Another of the winged lizard men landed behind him, hardly a yard away, and lashed out with its long, thick claws outstretched. He jumped back without a moment to waste, though one of the monster's claws managed to scrape against his cheek.

He felt a trickle of blood slide down his face as he held his sword up in a guard. The beast's other hand wrapped around the blade and attempted to jerk it from his grip. He didn't release the hilt but grimaced slightly as he pressed the blade into its palm. The fiend was cocky and didn't expect him to break through its first layer of scales. He took a step forward and pushed the blade through its hand and up into its wrist.

It howled and drew back, furthering the amount of blood that decorated the floor. He glanced over his shoulder, frowning when he caught sight of two more of the beasts running to join the fight. He jumped over the first one's body and ducked behind the pod, readying a symbol. Though there was no ground nor earth to speak of, he altered the symbol's casting and effect to work on metal instead.

It manipulated the floor beneath the creature and a massive glaive of metal jolted upward, impaling the beast. Unlike the original symbol, it didn't track back into the ground. It remained standing upright, the floor around it warped and slanted downward. Blood began to drip down and make small puddles in the hollowed out area.

The other two turned and were now squeezing single-file down the small hall between the left most row of pods and the wall. A moment after activating the symbol, the room darkened as a black abyss opened up in the floor beneath them.

A large, black and dark purple demon emitting waves of negative energy leapt from the chasm and plowed toward the beasts. It was too large for the narrow hallway and damaged the pods as it passed, breaking large pieces of the machines off. They fell to the floor and he stepped back to avoid being hit by a heavy tube that attached the unit to the ceiling. It slammed the beasts against the opposite wall then disappeared, the abyss following suit.

_Five more before the second line will open up…_ He turned around as the sixth creature emerged, this one jumping through its glass chamber like the first. It sprung into the air, beating its wings violently as he started another darkness symbol.

Another, although much smaller, black chasm appeared in the floor and followed the beast as it rushed forward. Dark, needle-like daggers flew up from the floor and shot through its body. They cut through the monster's scales with ease and kept flying upward until they embedded themselves in the ceiling before disappearing. It collapsed atop the second's corpse and worsened the growing stench.

The room was warming up; he could no longer see his breath and the clouds of cold air along the floor were beginning to disperse. Before he had more time to contemplate the changes, his sixth, seventh, and eighth adversaries presented themselves. They emerged from three side by side capsules and let out deafening yells when they spotted him.

He stretched his right arm out and for the umpteenth time, a symbological circle appeared. He calculated the speed of their movement and deducted the best location for the symbol in a matter of seconds.

A thick prison of ice three feet tall shot up from the floor and froze the beasts' feet in place. They attempted to break free but the ice held strong, and soon a new layer of ice crept up their bodies and left them completely paralyzed. One let out another cry, though this one in anger instead of arrogance. The ice crept up its neck and face, subsequently silencing it.

Though mildly reluctant to use something he was unfamiliar with, he then beckoned the power of a fire symbol. With a wave of hot air, half a dozen fire balls materialized and shot forward. Two collided with each of the creatures, causing both the ice and the being imprisoned to melt. Though the effect was only temporary and too brief to be fatal in itself, the ice symbol's strength was great enough to render its victim liquefiable.

He noticed a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye, but before he had adequate time to react in any way, the back of a heavy scaled hand the size of a melon slammed into his right shoulder with great, brute force. He felt the air being knocked out of him as the force jolted him forward. He hadn't been prepared for the blow and nearly went sprawling, but managed to catch himself in time to turn around and raise his sword in a guard. He regained his footing and straightened when his opponent withdrew. He counterattacked with a swift slash aimed at the monster's ankles.

A few scales were knocked loose and flew off but only a small amount of blood was drawn. It was completely unaffected by the minimal injury, and, almost as though to mock his effort, kicked its injured leg forward in response. He dodged the attack and jumped behind the creature in its unguarded moment. He raised his rapier high above his head and plunged it into the monster's back, aiming for the location of its heart.

The tip of his blade protruded from its chest as its limbs went limp. A great deal of weight pulled upon his sword as it began to collapse. He jerked his sword out of its corpse and stepped backward to avoid its falling body. More blood spread across the floor as the stench of death became nearly unbearable.

He flicked his rapier, attempting to loosen some of the blue blood that stained the blade. It was thicker than average humanoid blood and remained thickly coated. He cast the body a final tired glance before turning away, prepared for another battle.

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Final Hikari: Bwahahaha! I wrote that entire scene without typing a name! XD I'm slightly proud of myself, since it's kinda my thing to start a scene mentioning the full name of the character who's POV I'm writing in. Though I hope everyone figured out whose POV I was writing in or else…or else I'm actually in fact quite good at writing mysteriously or someone wasn't paying attention. XD

Arumat: The latter option would be a likelier scenario. There's a reason you don't attempt the mystery genre.

Dr. Meh: To be honest, the POV was quite obvious after the first few paragraphs. -ducks bricks-

Final Hikari: -.- I'm enjoying my longest chapter thus far, so don't spoil it, you two!

Lymle: Hikari, it's thingamajig, doohickey, thingamabob, or doodad. "Whatsamagigger" isn't a word, 'kay?

Final Hikari: None of those things are words though…it's like Smitty Wargeryeggermanjensen.

Faize: -decides not to ask- I regret to say they are all present in your English Earthling dictionaries; all except the synonym you used in the previous disclaimer.

Final Hikari: O.O Wow. I just lost a lot of respect for Microsoft Works' dictionary.

Lymle: Try to use real words or else your readers will get creeped out, 'kay?

Final Hikari: While on the topic of vocabularies, why don't you try and cut down on the 'kays? You _are_ older than me and my vocabulary is equal to or surpasses Faize's.

Faize: -silently disagrees but doesn't comment-

Lymle: More people like Dr. Meh think its cute rather than people like you who it really annoys, 'kay?

Dr. Meh: -screams silently in background- I do NOT!

Final Hikari: -ignores her abused editor- So? -.-

Lymle: So, no, 'kay?

Final Hikari: -heavy sigh- Anyway. -turns to readers- This was my first symbol battle! I've been dreading it, but I actually think it came out pretty good. I debated about adding the callings of the spell's names or the alternate quotes, but then I tried to think about it reasonably. Though back when I first heard the word in Till The End of Time in…2005, or something like that, I was all, 'Oh, so they gave a fancy sci-fi new name to magic…" So I decided if someone is fighting alone using mainly symbology, there's not really a logical reason to include them, though it would have been fun. Symbology is supposed to be a science after all…XD -ducks a rotten tomato thrown in her direction-


	8. My Heart Will Go On

Final Hikari: -blinks- -spelling out loud- …That's really creepy. -pokes Arumat- Hey! Your name is an anagram of _trauma. _Isn't there anything that isn't creepy about you!?

Arumat: -.-

Lymle: I don't think so, 'kay?

Final Hikari: I know, but any geek like me that loves mythology and etymology knows "Thanatos" means "death" in Greek. But "trauma" comes from the Greek word meaning "wound." And why does Tri-Ace get such cool names out of anagrams of normal words? -slumps- I have to brain storm and research for hours before I can find a good name nowadays!

Faize: Researching is a good habit to maintain, though.

Final Hikari: Good and boring. And even when I do copy and paste MBs of names off Behind The Name and references of mythological stuff, the names I just pull off the top of my head are better. T.T

Faize: …You just imagine names for your characters?

Final Hikari: I used to. I'm trying to be more professional about it now though. -pokes Arumat- Hello? Hello? Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear---

Arumat: -trademark glare-

Final Hikari: -.- Are you going to say anything in this disclaimer, trauma-boy?

Arumat: …Do you give several rude and childish nicknames to all your characters?

Final Hikari: -epitome of innocence- Only the ones that I dislike for liking!

Arumat: …That is utterly irrational.

Final Hikari: So do the disclaimer.

Arumat: No. Cooperating with a childish, teenage girl is pointless.

Final Hikari: -.- _Excuse_ me?

Faize: -shakes head slightly- The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Utopia

Chapter VII

My Heart Will Go On

_Lymle Lemuri Phi sighed and hopped off the comfortable, orange chair in the Calnus' Recreation Room. Nothing that involved her was going on; it was the second day on the trip to Aeos and no one was paying all that much attention to her. Sarah and Meracle were struggling to deal with each other, since they had ending up sharing a room, Bacchus was playing his boring "chess" game, Edge and Reimi were busy, and Faize was acting strangely._

_He was indirectly avoiding them all, doing nothing but work. He was finding numerous, time-consuming maintenance projects around the Calnus and only came around to dinner, and said very little._

_Something was amiss; the others were either too unobservant or unconcerned, or simply believed his hasty denial when questioned. She stared unhappily at the floor, remembering the strange occurrence when they left to Purgatorium on Roak. They'd saved Sarah, and Edge had been immensely relieved that their meddling in the planet's affairs hadn't created any negative repercussions._

_Her eyes dropped closed and the memory filled her mind's eye. She knew it wasn't merely her imagination; she was quite familiar with his eye color, for it was so peculiar. She'd never seen a person with purple eyes on Lemuris, and no odd glint of the sun could have given the illusion his eyes had suddenly turned red without reason._

_She'd only ever read about people's eye colors changing. As far as she'd always believed, it didn't happen in reality. Whether it be simple ignorance or her habit of losing interest whenever conversation between the rest of the crew became too technical or confusing, she couldn't think of any logical reason._

_Red was a terrible color; it was the color of fire, the element in symbology she had the greatest control over, but it also remained reminiscent of bad memories. Half the demons beyond the gate to the purgatory where she'd found Cerberus, especially the ones who wore a human form, had red eyes. She'd once asked her grandfather if people had red eyes, and he'd said any who did were bad omens._

_The phantoms of the humanoid creatures that had existed long ago or had yet to be born in the demon realm always seemed to have more blood on their hands than any beast. They had intelligence that outscored that of a creature, making their ability to commit atrocities far more effective._

_The nightmares she had when she had to risk sleeping in the accursed place were hazy, but unforgettable, even close to ten years later. One of them had, at the time, instilled in her the greatest though unexplained sense of fear regarded a knight with blood red eyes. She couldn't picture him perfectly; she just remembered dark armor and a long, also blood red sword held in his left hand._

_In the dream, she'd stood before the knight alone. She'd been able to sense Cerberus straining at his bonds, but even armed with a wand, she couldn't bring herself to summon him. For some reason, she completely lacked the will to fight the mysterious person. He'd turned his blade against her heedlessly, but even when it was about to pass through her and extinguish her life, she wouldn't summon her demonic guardian. Oddly enough, it wasn't because she __**couldn't**__, but because she __**wouldn't**__._

_Right when the blade was mere inches from dealing a single, fatal blow, he had stopped. She had been staring down the tip of his blade when his mask began to crack, about to reveal his identity, but something had jarred her back to reality and the nightmare never finished._

_She shook her head to dismiss the thought and remembered her conversation with Faize the evening before departing to the Purgatorium. She remembered, although sadly, when he explained why he didn't have any family. The "DNA management" all Eldarians were apparently born through seemed very sensible and perfectly humane the way he'd described it._

_She'd questioned Reimi about how she and Edge were born, which was surprisingly similar. However, her rendition of a very similar - although equally confusing - process was explained shrouded in dark clouds. She made it sound like being 'genetically modified' was a terrible thing and even briefly mentioned being condemned as a monster as a child._

_She seemed to be blissfully unaware there was hardly a thing unusual about that on Eldar. When he explained it, it seemed sensible, but when she emphasized the cold hopelessness it yielded, it appeared to be a glittering box with nothing inside._

_She paced towards the stairs then turned around when the door to the bridge slid open. She glanced up, expecting to see Faize, but her shoulders fell when she saw it was Edge. Her gaze dropped to the floor, but not quickly enough, because Edge noticed her uncharacteristically dark expression and walked over._

_"Something wrong, Lymle?" he asked kindly with a smile. "You look a little sad. That's not like you."_

_Lymle looked up at him, determined to keep her expression indifferent. "…Um, Edgie?"_

_"Yeah?" he replied, raising an eyebrow questioningly._

_"I…I don't care at all, 'kay?" she said, voice a little firmer. "Not one little bit!"_

_"Um…," Edge trailed off. "What is it you don't care about?"_

_She looked down and fidgeted uncomfortably, reluctant to reply. "…Faize."_

_A slightly knowing smile crossed his expression. "Did you have a fight with him, or something? And now you don't know how to apologize?"_

_"…No," she said after a pause. "Faize is…acting kinda weird lately."_

_"Weird…? How so?" Edge questioned, sounding slightly curious._

_"I…I dunno. But something isn't right, 'kay?"_

_"I think he's probably just tired. A lot of stuff has been happening lately, you know," Edge reasoned calmly._

_"But…," Lymle objected halfheartedly._

_"He'll be fine. If you're this worried about him, I'm sure he'll get back to being the good old Faze we're used to soon enough."_

_"I-I'm not worried at all!" Lymle retorted, waving her arms irritably for emphasis. "I don't care! Why don't you get it, Edgie!?"_

_The door to the meeting room slid open, and almost on cue, Faize entered the room. He stopped and glanced at them questioningly. A slight blush crept into Lymle's cheeks and she glared at him._

_"Well, it certainly is lively in here," he observed, though sounding rather uninterested. "What are you discussing?"_

_"N-none of your business!" Lymle stammered, looking away. "Hmph!"_

_She spun on her heel and hurried up the stairs, sticking her tongue out at Faize on the way. She nearly tripped on one of the stairs but straightened hurriedly and disappeared around the corner. She stopped as soon as she was out of view, face still red, and knelt down by one of Reimi's trees to eavesdrop when she heard them talking._

_"What's wrong with her?" Faize asked, grimacing slightly. "I don't remember doing anything to anger her."_

_"Hah," Edge chuckled, "she's not really angry with you…she's worried about you."_

_Lymle pursed her lips and glared at the wall. __**I just said I'm not worried!**__ She crossed her arms and resisted the temptation to fly down the stairs and explain otherwise, and instead stayed waiting and eavesdropping._

_"Worried?" Faize asked, raising an eyebrow disbelievingly. "About me?"_

_"She says you've been acting strange lately," Edge explained. "I think she just doesn't know how to express her feelings."_

_"Strange…huh," Faize echoed quietly, gaze dropped to the floor._

_"Faize?" Edge questioned when silence ensued._

_"Hmm? It's nothing. She doesn't have to worry, I'm fine," he said flatly, meeting the Earthling's gaze evenly. "You see? There's nothing strange about me, is there?"_

_She leaned forward and watched him with a frown. She was careful to make sure she didn't make any sound to alert them of her presence, though an air of disappointment settled over her. __**Edgie…you're so dense, can't you tell he's lying?**_

_"Yeah, you're right. I'm sure she's just over-thinking it. But…isn't it nice to have someone that cares about you?" Edge asked with a smirk, though a little jokingly._

_Faize's eyes fell to the floor for a second time and he was silent for a long moment. Edge looked at him inquisitively, expression becoming unconvinced before he replied. "…Yes, I suppose so. To some extent."_

_Edge chuckled and muttered something about both of them being terrible at putting their thoughts into words, which only succeeded in making her more displeased. She huffed and stood up, walking to her room hastily. __**I'm not worried! And I don't have anything in common with him! Especially anything bad…**_

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Lymle Lemuri Phi stood atop a wooden stool in front of the kitchen counter, though it was hardly necessary. She was growing quickly, but was still just a little too short to work efficiently without it. She was helping Lutea roll the cookie dough into small balls for baking, and frequently stole chocolate chips out of the large, half empty bag.

The air of tension and disappointment had faded, though Lutea's expression remained slightly distant. She understood the basics of the situation, though was reluctant to agree. It was Lymle's choice, and since Lutea would be returning to Alanaire Citadel, she didn't have any solid reasons to object.

The involvement of Arumat added to her older friend's reluctance to see her go, even though he'd actually be leaving Lemuris before long. Lutea had also questioned why he used the name "Lemuria" instead of "Lemuris" but out of all her questions, Lymle had no explanation for that one. Nor did she have any interest in asking the ex-Thirteenth Independent Armored Division soldier such a mundane question.

Nevertheless, neither of them broke the silence in the kitchen. Lutea's mother had gone to the tailor after assisting in preparing dinner, thus there was little sound in the small house. There was a knock on the front door and they both glanced up, almost in unison.

"Come in!" Lutea called as she washed and dried her hands.

Lymle used the moment she was facing the sink to steal several chocolate chips from the bag and pop them into her mouth. The front door was pushed opened and Rose entered, smiling cheerfully although she seemed slightly preoccupied. She closed the door behind her quickly to prevent the heat inside from escaping.

"Good evening!" she greeted. "I know I'm early, but I thought I'd help with dinner or something. Do you mind?"

"No, not at all," Lutea replied politely. She glanced around, pausing hesitantly for a moment. "Is that soldier, Arumat, with you as well?"

"I don't think he's coming," she admitted. "You probably shouldn't take offense though. I don't know him well but he seems to be a loner."

Lutea nodded, appearing, if anything, slightly relieved. "Well, dinner is already done, but feel free to make yourself at home. We were just making cookies for dessert."

"Are you sure there's nothing I can help with? I like to keep busy."

Lymle glanced up from the cookie dough and interjected. "Lutie, do we have enough cocoa for hot chocolate later?"

"Well, there's _almost_ enough…"

"Rosie and I will go to the store and get some," Lymle said, hopping off the stool and looking towards the older Eldarian. "'Kay?"

"Sounds good," Rose agreed pleasantly.

Lymle rinsed her hands off in the sink as Lutea suggested she wear a coat. After a brief goodbye, and the refusal of a coat, they departed from the small house. She lead the way to the Thousand Gods General Store, inwardly thinking it was slightly warmer than the morning had been. Spring, without a doubt, came _very_ slowly in Woodley.

The thin layer of ice over the cobblestones was gone and the piles of snow around the roads were dwindling in size. The air was still cool and brusque, but no longer freezing. The streets maintained their usual bustle, though it seemed to be centered around the store and warehouse.

She had the fleeting feeling they were being watched, but dismissed it. They walked in silence, making Lymle feel slightly suspicious. She had the feeling the older girl wanted to ask her about a more serious matter, indicated by her noticeably less bouncy demeanor. Though she had an uneasy expression, Rose finally spoke up.

"So you…traveled with Captain Maverick when Faize Sheifa Beleth was part of the Calnus' crew?" Rose questioned, a little hesitantly.

"He was with Edgie and Reirei when they came to Lemuris," she replied simply.

"This planet was their first destination after Aeos. I remember when they left," she remarked. "I take it…you were with them for quite a while, then?"

"More than half a year," she said flatly, expression slightly forlorn. _Won't she just get to the point? They must not have made the information public… It's obvious she's going to ask about Faize…_

Rose glanced at her saddened look and paused for another long moment. "Do…do you mind if I ask a rather…well, direct question?"

"I guess not," she said in response.

"It was pretty late in the year…a long time after they left Aeos…," Rose trailed off, voice sounding conflicted. "Were you there when he…died? I'm sorry to ask such a thing, but…" Lymle's expression darkened but she didn't reply immediately, apparently giving her permission to press on. "It's just that I can't accept he's really gone. After what happened on Aeos and Eldar, I was so relieved he _wasn't_ with the rest of us. It was just luck that the Commander picked me out of all the workers there to return to Eldar with him when trouble started. I would have died with all the others if it weren't for that."

"Did lots of people die, when your home was destroyed?"

"The fatality count, especially after the Phantom attacks, cut the population of our race in less than half. It's hard to find someone that didn't lose a friend or relative. The obituaries since we reached Lemuris have been updated daily for months. Even though I hadn't heard from him, I hoped nothing had happened… Then his name showed up with the names of all the Eldarians that died during the Nox Obscurus operation, even though he wasn't accounted for in any of the Calnus' crew logs, or any of the other ships."

"Didn't you ask Mattie?" she questioned blankly.

"I did," Rose admitted, "but both he and Commander Gaghan dodged the question or said I was better off not knowing. I asked Arumat point blank if he knew, but he just told me to forget about it and not to stick my nose where it doesn't belong. Meanwhile, according to the Thirteenth Independent Armored Division's records, he replaced Faize aboard the Calnus during the second Phantoms attack."

_She doesn't know. Edgie and Reirei told me not to tell any Lemurisians about all the things that happened…or the Grigori. I suppose the majority of the people who knew took the knowledge to their graves…_

She hesitated before telling the truth, surprised to find she partially agreed with Arumat's decision not to let the twisted truth spread. No more than a dozen individuals knew what happened; it was probably better it stayed that way.

"Faize wanted to protect his friends. He fought in the last battle there, but he was badly hurt."

She selected her words carefully, aiming to convey what happened without lying nor explaining that he'd lost his mind upon coming in contact with the Grigori's almost godlike power. It was better off she didn't know they had actually fought _against_ him in the aforementioned battle. Rose listened intently, an uncharacteristic frown settling across her features.

"He could barely walk. Edgie stayed behind to help him while the rest of us ran ahead. But then Nox Obscurus began to collapse. We were running out of time and…"

"I understand," Rose interjected with a pained smile. "You don't have to finish. I…I'm sure it was more painful to have been there, rather than just reading about it."

They both, once again, fell silent as they neared the Thousand Gods General Store. The stairs creaked beneath her feet, though they, like the streets, were free of ice. Rose pulled the handle of the door open but stopped momentarily. Lymle glanced up at her questioningly.

"Thank you, Lymle. I really appreciate…that you told me the truth."

Lymle closed her eyes as they entered the warm, heated store. A few other people were browsing the shelves or already waiting in line. The shopkeeper's daughter was talking to an old woman with an energetic smile and her cat, Sir Francis, in her arms. Rose spotted the box of cocoa first and walked over to get it.

She kept her eyes closed, barely listening to the cheerful voices of the other people in the store. In Triom's general store, she'd recognize the faces and remember the names of the people there, as they did her. Other than the girl and her cat, she didn't know any of the people here. It didn't matter Woodley was full of people and alive; she might as well have been alone.

_I…I've made my decision,_ she thought resolutely, opening her eyes slowly. _I'm going with them… I won't really know anyone there, but it won't be much worse than it is here. _

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_Lymle Lemuri Phi glanced down the two staircases leading up to the crew quarters to make sure both were empty. She then hurried down the hall and pressed her ear to each of the bathroom doors; the sound of running water was discernable in the woman's shower room, ensuring Reimi wouldn't be walking around for at least half an hour. She was terribly slow in the shower, only putting herself at higher risk of getting spied on._

_Without wasting any time, she started back to the door of Cabin Two. __**I have no reason to be on guard, really… It's **__**my**__** room, too, after all. **__The automatic door slid open and she stepped inside, careful to walk silently. As expected, Faize lay with his eyes closed, asleep. She took a few steps closer, a slight frown forming on her face._

_Even in sleep, he seemed to retain a tense expression. He had looked unusually pale over the last few days, as well. __**Well…I suppose it's good he's sleeping, he's just tossed and turned over the last few nights since we got back. Although…he looks like he's having a nightmare.**_

_She grimaced slightly when the memory of the armored knight flashed through her mind. She always thought "bad omens" were just something older people worried about. She couldn't ignore the nagging fear when she thought of his blood red eyes, and those of the knight._

_At that moment, without any warning, the door opened and Captain Edge Maverick walked in. She didn't look up, too absorbed in her thoughts to fully acknowledge his entrance. He stopped and surveyed the situation before speaking up._

_"What are you doing, Lymle?"_

_"Eeek!" she squeaked, arms in the air as she jumped and spun around. "Wh-what are __**you**__ doing here, Edgie?!"_

_Edge looked at her, a bit suspicious. "I wanted to talk to Faize about something, but I guess he's sleeping, huh."_

_"Th-that's right, he's sleeping!" she stammered defensively, "But I didn't do anything to him, 'kay?!"_

_"Um…," the Calnus' captain trailed off, "Are you sure about that?"_

_"I said I didn't do anything!" she retorted quickly. "Edgie, you dunno what you're talking about!"_

_"I dunno, Lymle," he echoed. "It looked like to me like you were…"_

_"I'm leaving!" she interjected loudly, hurrying to the door in a huff. "I'm gonna go right back to Grandpa's house and you can't stop me, 'kay?!"_

_She stomped out, hurrying past Edge, and out the door. Edge turned and watched her depart, shaking his head slightly. She stopped in the hallway as soon as the door slid closed, contemplating going back and pressing her ear against the door to eavesdrop. She shook her head abruptly and ran toward the stairs, deciding it to be better to get as far away as possible. She'd done more than enough eavesdropping for one day._

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

The cockpit of the massive vessel was all but silent. Only the whirr of the electronics and mechanical components that had undergone rushed repair produced a faint background noise. Other than the person seated in the captain's chair, no living beings were present to speak or move.

The atmosphere of the halls was equally ominous, though all the corpses had been cleared out for maintenance purposes, partly because the stench of decay that permeated through so many regions of the leviathan ship was maddening to work under. Old, dried blood that had splattered on the floor and walls remained.

There was no point in cleaning all _that_, after all. The room's lighting was lacking, for it had been made to be operated by the reptilian Cardianon. All the computer terminals needed to have several components and settings altered before they would produce holographic screens discernable to humanoid eyes.

Though he had done it before, the conversion process had been more lengthy and difficult with so many functions of the ship unavailable. Without modification, they simply produced light signals only the Cardianon could perceive. It had required a notable amount of hacking, but he'd selected the captain's terminal in order to have completely control over the ship.

The eyes of the young man who sat before the only functioning terminal were closed. His breathed was even, though perhaps a bit shallow. Nevertheless, he wasn't sleeping; there was still far too much work for him to do in order to maintain sufficient power from the generator to keep the warp engines functioning.

There were two reasons he willingly let so much of the vessel disintegrate; first, expending power unnecessarily would lead to certain death. Not that it particularly mattered, for everyone already thought him dead. It wouldn't be a disappointment to anyone, for they would never know what happened.

The second reason was because in its original condition, before losing half its mass due to being absorbed and later expelled by Nox Obscurus, it was the size of a small planet. It wouldn't have been able to enter an atmosphere properly; it would merely collide and send a real planet off its axis, and create a cataclysmic disaster.

It had lost another third of its mass since he started dismantling and ejecting unnecessary compartments. It was now small enough to enter Aeos' atmosphere, but it would still cause considerably damage wherever it landed. There wasn't much time left to continue releasing compartments to limit the damage. He didn't have time to rest.

His plan was carefully made; there was a wall around the abandoned city that could endure warp space. It was made to be ejected in case of emergency, and it was his intent to do exactly so. However, it didn't change the necessity of cutting off power to all the regions that surrounded said city. If he didn't, it wouldn't matter what the city could withstand, for there'd be no propulsion left.

The only other complication was that the city's borders weren't able to enter planetary atmospheres. He wasn't even going to bother trying to change that, for not only did he lack equipment, but there'd be insufficient power to fuel such devices once the warp was done. Crash landing was inevitable; the highest chance of survival was to simply divert the remaining power supply to shields and let the crash happen.

The portion of the Cardianon database he had access to contained very little information on Aeos. He was able to view the data he had on his portable computer, but exact specifications on the geography and dimensions of the continents and oceans would elude him until the ship was within less than a light year of the planet.

_I…don't know if this is worthwhile. If I ever returned to my people, wherever they are now, I could probably be tried as a criminal. I ended up, although indirectly, responsible for hundreds if not thousands of deaths…among the forces of the Morphus, Earthlings, and…Eldarians._

He opened his eyes and leaned forward, despite the objections of his stiff, overexerted muscles. Several small cuts that had only recently closed throbbed as he moved, but the pain was tolerable and ignorable. He hand settled on the hilt of his sword at his side as he stood and started toward the exit.

_But…I at least have to try. It may be pointless and futile, but I can't give up. Even if just in the name of walking forward, step by painful step, until the very end._

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Final Hikari: Bwahahahahahah, I did another linked-chapter-titles thing. :D

Lymle: -reads- "Even in death, my heart will go on." That's just a quote, 'kay?

Final Hikari: -.- Quotes in chapters are nothing new, no yo? …You know, that's just as annoying as no yo instead of 'kay. I really didn't like this chapter. The in-present scene was hell just because…it was extremely awkward to write. There's no way it came out looking respectable. T.T Also, the flashback. -head in hands- Typing that dialogue didn't help, either. I could have done better with Edge's comments, most sounded kinda awkward and I hate the phrase "good old" for no logical reason. XD

Lymle: Why?

Final Hikari: I don't know. My grandparents say it all the time. XD And I'm inclined to dislike things when I have a pounding headache. XD

Faize: …Then why wouldn't you turn your computer off?

Final Hikari: Because I'm a busy woman and have lots to write! -leans forward in chair and adjust wireless keyboard on lap- Ow, my back hurts…

Lymle: …You sound like an old lady, 'kay?

Final Hikari: XD Oh, come on, be nice! I'm not the only fifteen year old with a large list of aches and pains! You're technically my age, surely you can sympathize to some degree.

Lymle: …No, 'kay?

Final Hikari: -.- Oh, come on. Although I do remember the days of the distant past when I never got headaches, or backaches, or aches of any kind. XD Ah, the good old days…

Faize: …Uh, Final Hikari, you just-

Lymle: You're an old lady, 'kay?

Final Hikari: … … … -blinks- KYA! That's worse than 'kay! X.X But probably not as worse as the face I listened to three different covers of "Because The Night" when I wrote a lot of this chapter. XD What I listen to when I write usually has an effect on things…but…I certainly don't want THAT song to influence anything Utopia, _especially_ flashbacks! XD

Faize & Lymle: -back away slowly-

Final Hikari: -shakes head- Oh, and since someone asked me about this. "Smitty Wargeryeggermanjensen" is a memory from my distant childhood…not a byproduct of my strange, often sleep deprived mind. XD Cookies or perhaps a wallpaper commission for anyone who can name the TV show Smitty Wargeryeggermanjensen appeared in.

Dr. Meh: -shakes head- Maddie, be a good lad and keep Hikari from escaping. I'm calling the asylum.

Arumat: … Make that a reservation for two.


	9. Planet Full of Emptiness

Final Hikari: -blinks- O.O Holy shit! _Faize!_

Faize: -slight wince- Yes?

Final Hikari: -points at him accusatorily with Xbox360 controller- You cursed! You said a curse word! Your politeness totally slipped and you _cursed!_

Faize: I did nothing of the sort. Such vulgarity is below me.

Final Hikari: Nu-uh! It may have taken two play-throughs to realize, but you most certainly cursed! For shame!

Lymle: -curious look- I believe Final Hikari more, 'kay?

Faize: -.- What proof do you have?

Final Hikari: -cackle- You never should have asked. Just a save file from mere moments before the scene! Just let me take a second and go back and load it…

Faize: O.O Wait, you really _do _have proof?

Final Hikari: Yes, I most certainly do! -grabs his wrist and drags him over to in front of TV-

Lymle: -follows and jumps up on couch-

Faize: …Is it really safe to have such an overloaded shelf of video games and guides directly above your head…?

Final Hikari: Probably not. But I didn't have much of a choice when moving everything into my room. -loading file-

Faize: -rather wary to be forced to sit between two fifteen year old girls-

Final Hikari: Okay! Just let me dash around these Area 51 beasties… -clicks tongue- Kya. I can't skip this Meracle scene, can I?

Lymle: No, you'll miss it all then, 'kay?

Final Hikari: Too bad. Well, might as well finish this in the next disclaimer then!

Faize: -relieved sigh, goes to stand up- Well, then if you don't mind, I'll just-

Final Hikari: -grabs his right arm-

Lymle: -grabs his left arm-

Final Hikari & Lymle: You're not going anywhere, 'kay?

Final Hikari: Now do the disclaimer.

Faize: X.X The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope…

Utopia

Chapter VIII

Planet Full of Emptiness

Having decided not to exit from the south entrance to avoid being pestered - or worse, recruited - by the construction works building houses in the new region of the small village, Arumat P. Thanatos waited at the northern entrance of Woodley. He had no time nor interest in the underdeveloped planet's attempts at expansion.

Even without use of the civilization's vast technology, simple knowledge made constructing a city far larger than what Lemurisians had accomplished quicker. The two main cities where the surviving leaders who had once represented Eldar would live and govern the people were already nearing completion in a few months.

The dark, imposing, and somewhat mysterious towers and domes of Alanaire Citadel rose above the mountains in the distance. The structure wasn't comparable to anything that had existed on Eldar in its last days, but the architecture of the building was faintly reminiscent to what his people had used 1300 years before the planet's originally calculated doomsday.

_The people here…are descendents of our ancestors. Those Eldarians were the ones to construct all these massive structures, then erase their origins from this planet's history. One thousand years later, and this is all they've achieved…how long will it be before the Eldarians descending from the emigration ships return to space?_

_Not even the Oracle of this backwater civilization is aware of the truth about this race. Shouldn't that information be kept alive __**somewhere**__?_

He frowned slightly, remembering the plan Commander Gaghan had proposed to the other surviving leaders. He was also contemplating erasing the truth of what happened to Eldar, but the thought was almost nauseating. The lie to future generations and to pretend it had never happened was forsaking and forgetting the sacrifices that permitted them to reach Lemuria.

It wasn't his business - and even when there _was_ a Thirteenth Independent Armored Division, he wouldn't have had a high enough rank to object - but the idea was disrespectful beyond belief. Though it wasn't set in stone, it was likely that would be the fate that the Eldarians settled on.

The morning air was cold, though very little snow remained on the ground. Only in the far off reaches of the highest mountains did snow remain thick. The sun had barely risen over the horizon and the crispness of the night air had not yet receded. The temperature was only about twenty degrees above freezing point; not that anyone had questioned why he still wore short sleeves.

Soft footsteps clicked against the cobblestone path that lead to Woodley's exit. The quiet jingle of bands on a Lemurisian Oracle's Staff echoed. Arumat waited with his scythe in hand, leaning against the tall stone wall indifferently.

"Mr. Thanatos…?" the Oracle of Alanaire questioned as she stepped off the path and out of the town.

"What?" he asked shortly, not bothering to return her gaze.

"Sir… I know you intend to leave this planet completely, but please, protect Lymle. I know these settlements are far away from Triom, and that the trip will take a few days. She's already decided…to go with you and that girl, Rose. She has Cerberus, but the path is dangerous, and there aren't any messengers in that region since Triom was abandoned…so I'll have no way of contacting her or knowing if she arrived safely. But…she trusts you, so please protect her."

He listened to her explanation, uninterestedly watching her expression become increasingly worried and conflicted. She had her Oracle's Staff in hand, indicating that she would be returning to Alanaire Citadel that day. He looked away and turned his gaze back toward the dark citadel.

"…You don't have to worry," he said flatly. "I intend to carry out the job I was hired for; she'll reach Asgard unharmed."

"Asgard?" she echoed questioningly. "Is that the name of the town she's going to?"

"Yes," he replied, volunteering no further information.

After the silence stretched on for another few moments, she bowed her head to him respectfully. "Thank you."

She looked expectant and seemed to wait for a reply, but he didn't acknowledge her. She turned around and reentered Woodley, quickening her pace as soon as she was out of sight. _For being the Lemurisians' oracle…she's completely clueless about this planet's origin._

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Lymle Lemuri Phi placed her third and final suitcase on the doorstep of Lutea's house. Having no intention of carrying the packages herself - that were fairly light and small until Lutea's mother had decided to "help" - she closed her eyes and focused on the open area before her. She faced the path, and stretched out her hand.

"_Shatter your bonds and come forth…,_" she began, focusing on the mental image of the underworld's gate."…_from the gates of purgatory…_," she recited, watching as the doors creaked opened and the endless skeletal hands that held it closed moved. "_Cerberus_."

Two spheres of fire appeared in the air several feet above her and spun in a circle before expanding. The intricate designs of the portal that opened were only visible for a split second before the familiar demon dog sprung forward and it disappeared. The small pile of snow he landed on instantly melted beneath his feet as he turned around to face her.

She placed her hand on his forehead and summoned the power of another symbol. The blue revolving circles appeared beneath the beast's paws; she restricted her arm and stepped back, and fire sprung up form the ground from the symbol and engulfed the demon momentarily, summoning its other two heads.

She patted each head as it bowed to her and struggled to lift the heavy suitcase up, extending the handle toward the rightmost head, instructing him to carry it in his mouth. Promising each separate head a cookie when they arrived at their destination, she gave the other two heads a suitcase to carry. She requested they refrain from drooling on the handles, but she'd already cast a symbol to render them waterproof, just in case.

She started down the pathway with Cerberus in tow, silently thinking of all the times she'd descended the hill Lutea's house was perched atop, only with a very different destination. When she reached the bottom, she glanced up to see Lutea herself hurrying down the main street of Woodley.

Lymle waved and the older girl smiled, though her eyes remained somewhat sad. Cerberus sat and waited, earning a slightly strange look from its master's friend. Lutea slowed down as she got closer to the two of them, looking slightly out of breath.

"Cerberus…has three heads now?" Lutea asked, a little hesitantly.

"Only after a special symbol…it's his true form, 'kay?" she replied calmly.

Lutea stopped, still breathing heavily. "Arumat is already outside waiting for you and Rose."

Lymle nodded, unsurprised. "Mattie's always ready first."

Lutea surveyed Cerberus a second time, sadly. "How long do you want to stay there?"

"Only for a few months. The winters are warmer there, but I'll probably come back anyway."

"It seems a little strange to be seeing you off again after you've only been back for a few months… Be careful, alright?"

The door to the inn down the street slammed open, disturbing the peaceful silence of the morning. Rose Niketa Hanabi stumbled out, cursing rather loudly when she didn't see Arumat anywhere. She thoughtlessly let the door slam closed as she tapped her foot, seeming to contemplate what to do next.

Lutea stared blankly though a shadow of a smile played at Lymle's lips. It was amazing the scatterbrained Eldarian hadn't driven Arumat mad on the trip to Woodley. She then caught sight of Lymle, Lutea, and Cerberus and waved energetically, hopping off the top stair and walking toward them.

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Edge Maverick, dissatisfied with being unable to contact Arumat, walked down one of the many hallways at the USTA Headquarters with a rather smug Reimi at his side. It was late and the hallways were empty; most crew members were taking their dinner break or clocking out for the day, still not in the residential area.

"I knew he'd ignore you. He probably figured you were going to ask for something and just blew you off."

"He might not have gotten the message. I'm sure they're keeping him busy on Lemuris with all the monsters crawling around," Edge retorted, never one to willingly admit defeat.

"Don't be disappointed when you end up waiting a few weeks for Bacchus and Myuria. I honestly can't see Arumat helping."

"Well, we can at least double check all the Aquila and Calnus' old data to see if it's real or not," Edge said stubbornly as they stopped at a room in the residential area numbered A9.

"But…," Reimi trailed off, tone becoming more serious as Edge rang the doorbell, "getting the data means dealing with Wel-"

She stopped mid-word as the doors opened instantly and Welch Vineyard's infamous Handy Stick - also known as a Poking Stick - was pointed at their faces. She stood, noticeably shorter than the both of them, in her full non-holographic, strange form of "glory," as the saying went.

"Ah-ha!" Welch exclaimed melodramatically. "The two love birds arrive together once again," she lowered her Poking Stick and spun on her heel to reenter her apartment, apparently inviting them in as she continued her rant.

"You kids can try, but you'll never pull the wool over Auntie Welch's eyes! I know the whole 'two-separate-single-bed-rooms' thing is just for show! If it weren't so damn expensive to make the arrangements and if Edge would spit it out and propose already, the two of you would probably have tied the kn-"

"Do you have the data, Welch?" Reimi interjected, indignant from the accusations; an unenviable aspect of contact Welch was dealing with her…assumptions.

They followed her in and the door closed behind them as she made a few more scandalous suggestions (and _how _many times have you spied on her in the shower so far, huh, Edge?).

The sight that stretched before them would have seemed more fitting in a student's dormitory rather than the apartment of a graduated, well-paid, and (though it was hard to believe at times) highly intelligent employee of the prestigious USTA.

Piles of magazines, trashy romance novels, shojo manga, movie cards, and music chips littered every surface of the living room. At least, it looked like it would be a living room if it were cleaned. Stacks of the aforementioned objects were also piled up on the floor, leaving only small walkways to certain places.

The atmosphere would have been cold and artificial like the rest of the Headquarters building were it not for Welch's mess. Boxes, some empty and others overflowing, served as end tables on either side of the sofa around the coffee table. However, no glass or bottle could be placed on them; they were buried under at least a foot of strange, antique manga with less than subtle titles like "Absolute Boyfriend" and "Shinigami Lovers."

Bone dry bowls that seemed to have contained ice cream sometime in the distant past along with empty bottles and soda cans littered the floor. Half full or empty and crumpled up bags of snack food and candy that had no business finding their ways through the doors of USTA headquarters completed the décor.

The only thing that wasn't completely immature was the coffee table between the U-shaped couch; but even that was disorderly beyond recognition. It contained portable computers, endless wires of varying shapes, colors, and functions, headsets, data panels, more movie cards, music chips, phones, music playback devices, communicators, and a lager holograph projection unit on the floor beneath it. There was a tiny open spot on the floor where it could be slid out for use at any time, though the inventor had ever decreasing uses for it.

Welch bounced over and pushed the debris that covered one side of the couch haphazardly to the floor. The sound of jellybeans scattering made the pink haired girl wince, for she'd apparently thought the bag was empty. She reached down and picked up a popcorn flavored bean and popped it into her mouth as Edge and Reimi exchanged wary looks.

"Have a seat!" Welch exclaimed, rooting around her table, apparently searching for a certain something amongst the mess. Any perfectionist - or anyone with a halfway reasonable sense of cleanliness - would have either run from the room, passed out on the spot, or called a psychiatrist.

They approached an open spot on the white sofa with notable trepidation. Reimi perched on the edge of the couch, avoiding the concentration of crumbs in the cracks between cushions. Welch withdrew a standard sized data panel from her junkyard and extended it out to Edge with a confident nod.

"All the data from the STF-003 Calnus that was ever tracked, hacked, or brought back! We don't really have anything from the other SRF ships, but there's teensy weensy bit from the Aquila. The Morphus have a lot of data from the Aquila since they serviced it…," Welch added with a disappointed sigh. "I don't have everything from the Calnus, since we stopped getting info on what you bad kids were up to after defecting."

Edge took the data panel, shaking it briefly to make the image reappear, and scanned the information displayed on the first page. His expression was serious and he didn't reply, quickly absorbed in the reports' information. Welch looked at them suspiciously.

"Thanks," Reimi said with a nod. "We wouldn't have been able to get the complete record without your help."

"Yeah, yeah, I know I'm great," Welch said dismissively, leaning back on the couch and crossing her arms. "But if ya don't mind me asking, whatcha looking for?"

"Well…," Reimi trailed off, glancing to Edge, who volunteered no information. "Edge received an odd tracking signal from an unidentified, non-USTA vessel entering warp space en route to Aeos. Since we have a decent amount of the Calnus' data, we wanted to look into it independently."

"Huh," Welch remarked, polishing her glasses. "That's odd. Our satellites aren't supposed to pick up on that kind of stuff unless the higher ups demand it, and even then, that sorta data would have a crazy security level. They were tuned to recognize Eldarian vessels and products, but that doesn't really matter anymore. I guess this matter is a secret, like your love affair?"

Reimi's cheeks flamed but Edge, engrossed in what he was reading, didn't seem to have heard. "Yes, it _is_ a secret, but there's no _affair_."

Welch giggled maniacally. "Suuuuuure. Do wild bears shit in the woods?"

Reimi frowned and stared at her oddly. "No, they're extinct and even if there are any woods left intact, they aren't capable of supporting life."

"Someone's paying attention," the young item creation "genius" retorted.

"It isn't difficult to answer an archaic saying like that…," Reimi grumbled.

"What kind of data do you have from the old Exploration base on Aeos, Welch?" Edge interjected, glancing up from the screen - which was now down to page three - briefly.

"I'd have to poke around, but I'm sure there's some…but why? If you tell me what's going on, I can help the two of you out more."

"We just explained," Reimi said, sounding slightly defensive.

"You said what happened, not why you're so interested in it. You didn't explain anything about how the Calnus was destroyed to me, how am I supposed to know?"

"I believe it's the Sol's control unit," Edge replied, earning a doubtful glance from Reimi.

Welch stared, obviously not getting it. "Sol. That sounds familiar. I guess it doesn't have anything to do with a soul, the Roman sun god, the old French coin, the fifth note in the diatonic musical scale, or the Standards of Learning examinations?"

"No," Reimi said, sounding tired. "It's an Eldarian shuttlecraft."

"Ohhhh. I remember now! A bunch of the engineers are complaining about one we ended up with and some stubborn pain in the ass backed up by Commander Kenny won't let them get rid of it. One of those little things the aliens used to ride around in!"

"Eldarians," Edge and Reimi correct, in almost perfect unison.

Welch rolled her eyes. "And you say you're not lovers," she mumbled before leaning forward. "So, what significance does this have? Finally gunna share some of that top secret data from Noxious Odorous with Auntie Welch? Eh? Eh?"

"The control units are small devices usually worn on the owner's arm. The Sol that's here can't be used properly because we don't have its control unit, which is synchronized with the owner's brainwaves," Edge explained.

"Uh. Sure. Sounds fancy. Now get to the point, there's gotta be more to it than just getting a little alien ship back online."

Only silence ensued and Welch glanced between them curiously. The soft whirr of Welch's various - and most likely overheating - devices was the only sound in the room for a long moment. Edge's gaze fell back to the data panel. Reimi, once again reluctantly, took the liberty of giving the simplest explanation possible.

"Welch, do you remember Faize?"

"'Course I remember Faizerino," Welch said, "I always remember people I nickname! Especially extremely gullible aliens…he totally fell for that molting seasons joke."

Reimi ignored her attempt at being lighthearted. "When Nox Obscurus began to collapse…Faize was seemingly killed, with the Sol's control unit with him."

Welch's eyes widened as her expression became surprised. "What?! He _died?_ How come I was never told? Classified smashified information, why didn't you tell me that? I just thought that you guys stuck with that über powerful and hot soldier guy because there was so much fighting going on!"

"No," Reimi replied darkly. "You probably weren't given any details because it was around when we had to defect from the USTA…and the only other Earthlings that know the truth are Commander Kenny and his crew. Most of the organization is still oblivious to the details about what happened…and a decent amount will still be oblivious to the existence of extraterrestrials until the UP3 is passed."

"But I was, like, part of the crew! The two of you could have told me things went completely wonky at Noxious Odorous!"

"Nox Obscurus," Reimi corrected automatically. "Basically, Edge found it odd and wanted to look into it."

Welch, already aware of Reimi's clearly pessimistic attitude approaching the situation, looked to the ex-SRF captain to answer her question. "So Alien Ears might be alive after all?"

"We don't know anything for sure…," he trailed off, looking up to meet her eyes. "But it's a possibility, so we have to look into it."

Welch nodded slowly, recovering her determined attitude. "Alrighty then! I'll do all I can to find out more and keep the bigwigs out of it! I'll help you out, just like the good ol' days."

Reimi glanced between them, expression conflicted. She couldn't help but question their readiness to get their hopes up, especially Edge, the only one of them to have witnessed their friend's death firsthand. She had a bad feeling she simply couldn't shake that what she watched was merely false hope.

Edge smiled slightly as he stood. "Thanks, Welch," he said sincerely.

She returned the smile with a grin and lifted her Poking Stick up, giving it a wave for emphasis. "Anytime, kids!"

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Final Hikari: -paying no attention to the fact that she 'kayed _again _in the previous disclaimer- -pauses scene quite suddenly- Okay! I was really surprised by this the first time since this slip wasn't recorded in the subtitles. And the idea of Faize cursing no matter how tense the situation is so foreign, I'm sure I'd be accused of having him OOC to make him curse in Utopia. So just to make sure I'm not mistaken…-turns volume up- -leans back- All be silent! -closes Xbox menu, scene continues-

In-scene Faize, when the Calnus won't launch and escape the impending pair annihilation's gravitational anomaly: Damn! We can't escape it!

Final Hikari: HA! -pauses again- -pokes him- You said it! You really cursed!

Lymle: Some gentleman. You cursed in my presence, and I'm just a kid. That's a bad word, 'kay?

Faize: -.- You're fifteen years old, Lymle. You're the same age as the author and she opened the chapter cursing! -indignant-

Final Hikari: But still, you cursed! You gutter mouth!

Faize: -defensive- I hardly call, especially in an actual life or death situation, one use of the word "damn" a legitimate reason to---

Final Hikari: -pokes again- That's _twice_! In the presence of an innocent child like Lymle, too! She had a very good point with that. You're worse than Edge and Arumat! Shame on you!

Faize: Y-you tricked me into that! And they curse in front of her all the time…as do you. And the two of you are _the exact same age!_

Final Hikari: -epitome of innocence- And you're supposed to be smarter and older than me, and thus perfectly capable of avoiding the wordplay traps I set. :D

Lymle: Real polite people don't say bad words, 'kay?

Final Hikari: -not giving him the chance to defend himself again- You're picking up Edge's bad habits! And Lord knows he has a lot of them… What's next, will you be spy-

Faize: I'm not picking up _anyone's _bad habits! It went past completely unnoticed the first time, so why are you being so persistent about bringing one mistake to light?

Final Hikari: Oh, that's an easy question. Capell did this too, but it wasn't as noticeable, and I didn't really like him as much so I overlooked it. Anyway! :D Your voice gets all high and kinda squeaky when you're upset or defensive and it's just _so_ _cute! _

Lymle: …

Faize: … -mutter- I think associating with a six-year-old fifteen-year-old who hates me was better than a fifteen-year-old, obsessive author…

Final Hikari: -clings tighter to his arm- -dangerous, Dr. Meh™ smile- You haven't even began to associate with me yet. I can still count the Roman numerals needed for the chapter titles after all! -clears throat- Ahem! -turns to readers- And, just one thing! Don't worry, for despite the events of this chapter, I'm not interfering with any of the pre-determined post ending events! It's just that the game ends in late S.D. 10 and the epilogues aren't set until S.D. 12. -sweat drop- It's only mid S.D. 11 at the moment in the storyline, so I still have a good in-timeline year to get things straightened out. XD About fourteen or fifteen months, actually.

Also, though I know I wasn't going to include this in Utopia (I was going to save it for 'How Many Phantoms?' and if you want to know what that is, be sure to poke XD) but I decided to have Eldar's years count down instead of up. See, in TLH, Faize says there are about 260 years before Eldar is destroyed but only 60 before it's uninhabitable, so I decided their annual calendar might count down to how many years there were left before the planet was destroyed. B.R. is "Before Ragnarok." -shot for using Norse Mythology _everywhere_- I was going to do "B.D." for "Before Destruction" and I also considered "Before Armageddon" but when my thought pattern shifted over to "Before Obliteration" (B.O. XDDDD) I decided to ask my wonderful readers for suggestions. XD I'm all ears if anyone has anyway! :D


	10. Longing

Final Hikari: Okay! Time to explain "Toothpick Syndrome!" XD I apologize for not doing this sooner, but this was the first disclaimer opening I had. -shot- It's a term I made up for characters whose personalities can be summed up by the following definition:

_A character who is so incredibly powerful you know that they could just pwn the ass of anything other character who tried to fight them armed with only a toothpick. But they're too stoic, cool, or just mature to gloat about it because both they and everyone else already knows how kickass they are. Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII, KOS-MOS from Xenosaga, Toya from Ceres: Celestial Legend, Sigmund from Infinite Undiscovery, and Arumat P. Thanatos from TLH are all Toothpick Syndrome Victims._

Final Hikari: XD Yes. The phrase "pwn your ass" is really in my vocabulary. X.X

Edge: -blink- -slight nod- I suppose it's a fairly…accurate description.

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- Thanks…now do the disclaimer!

Edge: Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Utopia

Chapter IX

Longing

"Good morning!" Rose Niketa Hanabi called with an overly energetic wave; something that seemed to be a trademark of hers. Her gaze fell to the three headed dog that stood between the two Lemurisians, currently carrying a suitcase in each head. "Is that Cerberus, your doggie?"

Lymle patted its middle head as Rose approached. "He's a good boy."

"He looks like some sort of doggie express with all those suitcases," the young Eldarian chuckled. "Are you all ready to go, Lym?"

"Yeah," she replied with a brief nod before turning back to Lutea. "I'm going now, 'kay?"

Lutea smiled, although her expression remained somewhat forlorn. "That certainly sounds familiar…I'll see you soon though."

"It won't be as long as last time, I promise," Lymle added as Cerberus flicked his tail impatiently. "I'll still be here on Lemuris after all…"

With a smile that didn't reach her eyes, Lutea nodded. "Goodbye, Lym."

Lymle returned the smile as she bid her friend goodbye. She turned away and started toward the far exit alongside Rose with Cerberus in tow. Lutea stood and watched as they departed with a somewhat saddened expression, but the younger girl didn't look back. Living in Woodley was almost _too_ peaceful in comparison to when she'd traveled board the Calnus with Edge and the rest of her friends.

Through, truthfully, she didn't see Arumat as a friend to the same definition as she saw Edge and Reimi. Not to mention how painful it was to look back upon the circumstances in which he joined their group, either. Nevertheless, he was still trustworthy, despite always being reluctant to associate with anyone. The idea of being surrounded by strangers, off worlders no less, was slightly uninviting, but she felt just as alienated among the inhabitants of Woodley, despite having known their names for many years.

The air was warmer than it had been the evening prior and the snow piled up on the ground was also melting. Small puddles of cold water gathered between the cobblestones on the road that lead to the exit. They passed through the tall arch where toe path ended, and, unsurprisingly, Arumat stood waiting. His arms were crossed and he had his scythe in hand. Rose was the first to greet him, bubbly and cheerful as ever, but only earned a brief glare in response.

"You're coming, then?" he asked shortly, gaze settling on Lymle.

"Yeah," she replied with a nod, meeting his cold stare evenly, something she'd never been able to do in months past. "I decided to come, 'kay?"

He glanced over at Cerberus, who walked up behind her and sat down. He surveyed its three heads, each carrying a suitcase in their mouths. A slight smirk shadowed his expression as he straightened and turned away from the, starting in the direction of Lake Aegis. The region was thickly populated by hostile creatures, even so long after the Cardianon's disappearance from Lemuris.

"We're going through the Van Elm Region then following the trail to the southeast. It takes three days to reach Asgard from here. Don't fall behind," he stated, addressing them both.

They walked in silence for a moment, letting Arumat get several yards ahead. His stride was quick and purposeful, thus, difficult to keep up with; especially when his gaze settled on a Stone Golem on the far side of the slight hill they were ascending. Lymle looked over to the tall walls that protected Woodley with a distant expression.

She was glad to go, but had a slightly foreboding feeling of what awaited her. Rose, despite being close to their leader, Commander Gaghan, knew next to nothing about Faize's fate; she doubted the common knowledge amongst any other surviving Eldarians that had known him was anything more than a lie. But she would undoubtedly have to be guarded about what she said to them; there was a great deal of conspiracy surrounding the Eldarians, Earthlings, and SRF that she only knew the resolution to on Earth.

There was a painfully likely chance the Eldarian civilians, since most of those who had accompanied Gaghan to the front lines of Nox Obscurus and learned the truth were dead, were still under some sort of illusion.

Rose sighed, shaking her head at his back. "Is he _always_ like that?" she muttered as he extended the blades of his scythe.

"Most of the time…he's gotten nicer though," Lymle replied simply, watching as he hurried forward, weapon outstretched, to attack the enemy from behind.

"But it's like talking to a brick wall half the time," the Eldarian objected. "I honestly stopped thinking he even listens to me."

She watched as the ex-Thirteenth Division captain lifted the blade high above his head, taking one step forward before bringing the weapon done on the guardian beast. The laser scythe was plunged into the creature's stone body and sliced through it effortlessly. It thrashed momentarily before he retracted the scythe and slashed it a second time horizontally, the weapon now engulfed in light, sending the rock beast flying into pieces.

"You're probably right…," she trailed off, letting the thought hang. "But he can still hear you, 'kay?"

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Edge Maverick drummed his fingers against the desk impatiently, staring at the computer screen with a slightly disappointed expression. It was only the second time he tried to contact the former Death Squadron captain, but it once again went unnoticed or ignored. He leaned against the back on his chair and crossed his arms to wait and see if so much as a message recorder would acknowledge the COM.

The signal was outputting in compatibility mode, since the basic USTA provided computers needed special clearance and a high security level update to contact COM addresses beyond Earth. Welch had taken care of both steps for Reimi and him, but the function was still limited in comparison to the information on the receiving COM if he were calling on another Earthling address.

Though the UP3, which still had yet to be officially approved, would prevent the use of such things, he did distantly miss some of the Eldarian technology that had been equipped to the Calnus. It was _much_ better than what the USTA currently offered.

He waited another minute before closing the communication feed. Reimi had contacted En II to get Bacchus' and Myuria's new COM data, but several checks had to be conducted to ensure it was a legitimate request since En II was to remain isolated from other civilizations.

He hadn't tried to relocate the mysterious, possibly Cardianon, vessel, for the sake of keeping it a secret from the USTA, but he was painfully aware of how little time remained before it reached Aeos. He was anxious and impatient, but as the captain of nothing more than a lost ruin, couldn't do anything.

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Welch Vineyard heaved a sigh as she, too, drummed her fingers against the metal desk impatiently. The twosome were on Welch's personal computer, located in the hell known as her apartment. Surprisingly, her bedroom wasn't kept in a condition as terrifying as the living room Reimi first had the displeasure of entering.

Though the bookcase, desk, nightstand, dresser, and closet looked as though a small whirlwind scattered debris native to the rest of her apartment all over the surfaces, including a simply _terrifying_ number of shojo mangas (not to mention a few shonen ai mangas, which explained some of the item creation expert's crudest jokes).

In fact, the bed itself, though left unmade, was free of all but one graphic novel, much to the ex-First Officer's surprise. _That is, of course, assuming that comforter pulled over the middle of the bed isn't hiding a pile of junk…_

Reimi leaned over to read over the younger girl's shoulder. She looked over the text displayed on the screen of the database Welch had accessed. However, the unusual language everything was written in seemed familiar and made her suspect that "hacked" was a more adept term.

"Welch, whose database is this?" Reimi asked suspiciously, a slight frown appearing on her face. Her hands were on her hips as she waited for a response.

"Well, I said I'd get all the data the from Aquila collected, didn't I?" Welch questioned passively, waving the question off idly. "I'm just doing what I promised you kids."

"That looks like the Morphus' language. Did you somehow contact En II? You know it's illegal to-"

"Relax!" Welch interjected. "Look at it rationally; the USTA lost contact with the Aquila during the first warp trip. Thus, we have, like, no data from the ship! But those pointy-eared Morphus did a lot of maintenance to the shop so they must have oodles of data!"

"Alright..," Reimi trailed off, straightening and taking a few steps away from the computer, resigned Welch's search would be taking a while. "But exactly what is the Aquila's data going to do for us?"

Welch clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Duh! I'd expect a dumb question like that out of Edge, but your hair is _brown,_ Reimi! Not blond!"

She crossed her arms impatiently and perched on the foot of Welch's unmade bed, inwardly wondering what compelled the younger girl to purchase sheets in such a sickeningly green, puke-like color. "Enough of the jokes, why do you want the Aquila's data so badly? What does it have that can help?"

The younger of the two rolled her eyes dramatically. "C'mon now. Use your noggin'! Edge things the Cardianon Mothership could have expelled from Nox Obscurus. So before we do anything, we should see if that's possible. And the Aquila, just like the Calnus, was pulled into that Mothership. They were there for far longer than you guys' were, so there's a good chance they have the information that could make or break this theory."

Reimi sighed and shook her head. "Welch, do you really think that's possible? It's nice to think of, but is it really feasible? He would have contacted us by now, don't you think?"

Welch leaned back in her chair and crossed both her arms and legs stubbornly. "You almost sound like you're against this. Besides, the COMs are difficult to repair, especially on foreign vessels. But if we get the Aquila's data on it, we can determine if it's possible or not."

"But…would En II have copied the backup files of the Aquila?"

"Why wouldn't they? They exist to gather information on threats to their race, and those Cardianon dues certainly sound dangerous."

Reimi sighed. "Could you at least have waited until the requests I submitted to get Myuria's and Bacchus' new COM information so you didn't have to hack into some database for it?"

"Eh, this is faster." Welch said with a shrug.

Reimi looked over to the time displayed on the data panel serving as Welch's clock and appointment calendar, sitting on the nightstand against the wall. _Nearly midnight already…_ Her gaze dropped to the floor as silence once again filled the room. _I know why they're both so intent on finding out if this is real…but don't they realize even if he __**is**__ alive, that he won't be welcomed back __**anywhere**__?_

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Faize Sheifa Beleth carried his rapier out of its sheath, ready to fight at a moment's notice as he ventured down what remained of a road in the Subterranean City that existed at the heart of what remained of the Cardianon Mothership. Many of the overhead passes he remembered traveling by over a year prior had crumbled and collapsed. Massive chunks of metal that fell crushed structures below, only increasing the devastation wrought by the two invasions, escapes, and finally, the external destruction of the ship.

_The external barrier wall around this city is the strongest on the interior of the ship…they're the only ones that can withstand atmospheric entry. Once the final surrounding compartments are detached, I'll need to transfer primary control to a terminal in this region._

He looked down to the expansive city below, inwardly thinking finding a stable structure with a suitable terminal would be long, difficult work. The condition of the metropolis was at least twice as bad as the roads that lead down to it; almost everything was on the brink of collapse.

The silence was hauntingly eerie; even the soft whirr of machinery was greatly softened on the inside of the nearly impregnable walls. There was no activity in the city, or rather, what was left of it, nor were there any machines left to defend the buildings. At least, not yet; it was impossible to know when something that remained of the Cardianon's defense system would suddenly appear.

The roads themselves were made out of an unusual, almost springy, synthetic material that warped under the pressure of the debris atop it. When still in working order, they'd reflected the electromagnetic energy given off by the Cardianon's levitating vehicles. It was vaguely reminiscent of what was once used on Eldar, but the most common form of transportation in the Cardianon culture was transference. Though an impressive feat of technology, when rendered unusable, the equipment was merely bulky junk that got it the way.

From what he'd been able to determine from the records that weren't deleted by the final Cardianon leaders and exploring the various areas of the Leviathan ship, the science of instantaneous transference was used by both military and citizens. The type of law once practiced by the creatures was best described as a dictatorship; all went according to the will and command of one specific person.

He walked down the empty road, frequently having to climb over ruins. Many of the structures were built with light metals with devices that warped and altered gravity around them built inside, causing anything made in such a manner to cave in shortly after power was cut off. It seemed unconventional and senseless, especially since such buildings consisted of at least half the devastation in the city streets below.

The vessel's old propulsion system was fueled by the power of a Grigori. A single exalithium crystal wasn't nearly enough to power the vessel in its original state. With more than half the original mass gone, the large store of exalithium crystals that backup generator ran on was just enough to keep the ship in warp space.

As it was a Leviathan, the trip was slow and time consuming. Long before the SRF's intervention with the Cardianon, the race had begun to mutate and exterminate each other. The effects of the ill turn in the specie's evolution were all over the Subterranean City. Decaying corpses, skeletonized remains, and shreds of what had once been organic material littered the city streets below.

The Cardianon that mutated lashed out and slaughtered their comrades. Ones that maintained their sanity and knowledge fought those who did not - all in all, it wasn't a wonder most of the Cardianon were extinct. Apparently when some of the last sensible Cardianon realized even their fellow reptiles in cold sleep were doomed, they deleted all information on the planets they targeted and successfully invaded, unlike what happened in Lemuris.

He stopped when a rather cavernous chasm further down the road where the metal was broken came into view. He looked over the hole, estimating the distance between the two roads to be at least sixty feet in length. He closed his eyes and extended his right hand, summoning the power of a symbol.

The familiar revolving circles materialized before him as ice appeared on the jagged metal and started expanding outward. He watched as the artic breeze swirled around the area and the size of the break diminished. He remained focused on the bridge of ice, ensuring the crystalline pass was thick enough not to crack or shatter. Despite the notable mental strain as the process consumed well over two minutes, he didn't release the symbol until it solidified on the opposite side.

The blue materialization circles disappeared immediately, leaving only a cool gust of wind as the stillness returned. He took a deep breath before continuing forward, inwardly wondering if he'd be able to make it to the ground floor within the day.

He walked across the slippery bridge as quickly as possible, but without running - since such would only result in falling and landing flat on his face - while glancing beneath the bridge and above to the upper overpass. The thick ice distorted the otherwise unaltered view of the lost city.

The break looked recent; it seemed as through it couldn't have been broken for more than week prior, though there was no sign of falling debris causing the damage; not to mention it hadn't shown up on his blueprint of the Subterranean City, based off a recent analysis. He stopped momentarily, gaze falling to the icy ground beneath him. A dark, mechanical vessel was approaching from below. It was just discernable through the semi-translucent ice. He hurried toward the other side, stepping into the metal without a moment to lose.

He had less than a minute to distance himself from the symbological ice when the undoubtedly unmanned security vessel flew upward. It very obviously wasn't one of the simple drones that had once patrolled the halls; this creature - at least sixty feet wide - was far too massive to even be comparable.

It crashed through the makeshift bridge, shattering the ice and sending shards and daggers of it in all directions. He turned away from the onslaught of sharp ice, but felt small fragments flying through the air inflict small scratches on his arms and legs. He raised his right arm over his head for protection, but scantly a second later he felt a particularly large shard, at least an two inches thick and six long, embedded itself in his forearm.

The hilt of his rapier nearly slipped from his fingers upon the moment of impact, but he managed to keep it from clattering to the floor. He grimaced in pain as the cold, agonizing sting shot up his arm. He glanced at the wound to see blood soaking his sleeve and dripping to the floor before looking to the overpasses above him to try and locate the creature.

He caught sight of it circling around the ceiling, identifying it to be one of the mechanical 'dragons' that once protected the city in great numbers. The road directly above the one he had chosen to take lurched dramatically to the left, instable from the newest break in its length. He breathed a curse under his breath as pieces of the metal enforcers on the sides of the unstable road fell, landing with an easily heard crash below.

Calculating he wouldn't have time to run and avoid the collapse, he settled on the next best option, though not the most rational for finishing the battle. He beckoned to the power of the most destructive symbol he had mastered; the symbological calling circle faded in and out of view as he struggled to spread the range of the symbol over the entire highway above.

The glowing, translucent panels appeared with a bright flash of light, engulfing the massive road as the same light died down circulated around the sides. The panels took the form of a sphere large enough to contain the entire falling section of road, at least ten times the usual range covered by the symbol.

"Extinction!" he called aloud, unable to release a symbol of such strength mentally.

The light passed between the translucent panels that surrounded the road like a puzzle of crystals, slicing the heavy glass and metal with a hellacious screeching sound. The area as enveloped in blinding light for a long moment before the annihilation finished. Only a cloud of dust drifting down remained.

He took a deep breath as he reached for the shard of ice imbedded in his arm. He wrapped his fingers around the cold dagger and jerked it out. The tip was covered in blood and the material of his sleeve was quickly dyed the same ominous color.

The crash of the metal beast breaking through the another bridge on the far side of the enclosure reverberated and echoed through the expansiveness of the abandoned city. Scraps of metal, chunks of concrete like substance, and large metal beams rained down.

He took a quick practice slash with his rapier to ensure he could still fight left-handed; the bleeding only worsened. He doubted he'd hold out very long in a sword-to-sword fight, but if all went as it seemed, it wouldn't come to that.

Faize looked over as the mechanical monster swooped down from above, its head turned in his direction. He straightened and despite his dwindling supply of psychological energy, summoned the symbological materialization circles for what felt like the hundredth time that day. The creature responded by flying forward, directly at him.

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Final Hikari: …Cliffhanger. I'm cruel. XD But I do apologize for the huge delay on this one. T.T Though the school induced loss of my editor, it was mainly writer's block and general disgust with my writing that that slowed this down. And, as those who are paying attention might have guessed, that means I'm proofing these chapters alone again. XD So if you see any typos, feel free to point them out. -sweat drop- Also, I'm getting ready to start an original story titled "Dystopia." Though no relation to Utopia or Star Ocean, just thought I'd mention that. XD

Lymle: …That isn't very original, 'kay?

Final Hikari: Blech. Seems a lot of people don't know what a dystopia is. XD Also, anger does wonders for one's productivity; the main reason this chapter and the next chapter got done was because I was pissed off and angrily pounded the two chapters out on my keyboard in a few minutes. XD The poor keyboard…I abuse it so…

Faize: The keyboards of Earth are quite primitive though, I doubt they could easily be damaged due to their sheer size…

Final Hikari: I'm a few chapters behind, so I'm going to try and spam you all with weekly updates while I get back on my feet so my end year quota is correct. :p And please review! This happened because I didn't get enough over the last few chapters. XD Or…or…-thoughtful- If I don't get at least three reviews for this chapter, I won't write another scene in Faize's POV until XII! -throws back head and laughs evilly-

Faize: -shakes head, whispers- Has she completely lost it?

Lymle: I'm starting to think so, 'kay?


	11. Lost In You

Final Hikari: Bwahahaha. There's actual plot in this chapter! XD I'm sure my usual readers are aware I never give my characters any peace, but I don't know if anyone is guessing the plot yet…

Lymle: …Any real announcements?

Final Hikari: Actually, yes! One real one and one not-so-real one. XD The latter is that I completely forgot I was sitting on this chapter! I thought it was already finished and posted.

Lymle: -.- You're really senile, 'kay?

Final Hikari: I blame NaNoWriMo. Now, for the good news! The Grammar Goddess, Dr. Meh, is still drowning in AP high school classes, so Meikahna is betaing for me! Many thanks go to her for saving the grammatical day. XD Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to hide under my electric blanket for this chapter. XD

Lymle: …That's a waste of power. Just sit by the fireplace, 'kay?

Final Hikari: -deadpan- This is 21st Century Earth. Fireplaces aren't in every house.

Lymle: …That's weird.

Final Hikari: No weirder than my twisted imagination. Disclaimer time!

Lymle: The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope, 'kay?

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Utopia

Chapter X

Lost In You

_February S.D. 10 / B.I. 267_

_Public News Report I_

_A division of the Planetary Research Organization based of Eldarian Exploration Vessel 'Valkyrie' entered the atmosphere of undeveloped planet Aeos in, by the calendar of the Earthlings, the second month of S.D. 10. Once surface conditions were determined to be acceptable and air composition breathable, two dozen Sol units each with one man crews were deployed to the surface._

_Investigation was carried out by these individuals who approved the climate and location suitable for an Exploration Base to be constructed. Contact with Earthlings from the USTA on their home planet was made, recommending the planet be part of their future investigations. At this time, the development of the first Earthling ship capable of stable long distance warp travel was still in development. Earthlings were still incapable of transportation, as reported by the Commander of the Earthling Moonbase. _

_However, one of the reports submitted by the first group deployed mentioned an unusual object crashing to the surface of Aeos shortly before the PRO unit's arrival. The crater where this item landed was located but not, at the time, explored. It was determined to have fallen into the depths of an extensive cave system titled 'Miga Insect Warren.' _

_This prompted Supreme Commander Gaghan to contact the military for assistance during exploration. Captain Arumat P. Thanatos of the Thirteenth Independent Armored Division was deployed with a full crew, estimated to reach Aeos within six hours of the time the notification was issued._

_The report containing information on the unusual object was submitted by Employee No. 75897666: Faize Sheifa Beleth. This account will be released to the public after the next conference between the remaining members Superior Council._

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The threesome - foursome counting Cerberus - had stopped for the night once the sun had fallen below the horizon and the last remnants of twilight faded from the sky. The aforementioned demon had taken the liberty of lighting a fire before the young symbologist dismissed him. It was fairly taxing to keep him materialized for such long periods of time, but it was something she had become accustomed to from having to fight with him so frequently the previous year. Both girls had fallen asleep relatively quickly as the fire died down, though fell asleep Rose far sooner.

It was almost extinguished when the ex-Thirteenth Independent Armored Division captain, Arumat P. Thanatos, started on his way back to the campsite. It was dark and the only light was the nearly full moon; more than enough to see by for his well trained eyes and reflexes. Though a less coordinated person who was equally unfamiliar with the geography would probably walk into one of the many rocky cliff walls.

The group had reached the edge of the Van Elm Region on the first day of travel. Subsequently, he'd spent the evening clearing the morning's path of monsters. Between the climate and rampant hostile creatures that roamed the land, it was almost surprising Lemuria had been chosen over other potentially hospital planets the emigrant fleet would easily have been able to reach. Mutated Cardianon had added to the chaos, though the planet had been free of their influence for just over a year.

Aeos' average environmental temperatures were more comparable to what Eldar had experienced thousands of years before its doomsday became imminent. However, the beings that inhabited Aeos were far more destructive than the ones on Lemuria; though some particularly strange ones wondered the uninhabited areas of the planet's continents, such as trees possessed by evil spirits and animated golems of stone, it still managed to be the safer of the two planets. The fact was reflected by the medieval civilizations that were able to survive for over a thousand years, if nothing else.

He had stopped on the way back while still a decent distance from where the others slept to see how may notifications and COMs he'd missed while in Woodley, and unable to make contact with the Dominion's network. Though not officially passed between the Earthlings and Morphus, Commander Gaghan was already impressing the importance of the UP3 upon his employees and people. Those still taking orders directly from the Commander, such as himself, were still permitted to keep all electronics required for missions.

As anticipated, as soon as the holographic screens appeared, messages and assignment notices from the hand full of surviving government officials populated the very large list. He glanced through the ones from Gaghan's address first, uninterestedly taking mental note of the regions that needed to be rid of creatures or investigated before settlements could be built.

However, two unusual COM addresses near the top of the list summoned his attention. He frowned slightly upon seeing them, inwardly wondering what the Earthling captain had called to bother him about.

He leaned against the side of the cliff above him and opened a COM to the Earthling, not caring enough to be considerate and calculate what time it was on Earth, never mind what he might be interrupting.

He waited several seconds and was about to close the COM when a dark room appeared, along with a very tired looking Edge Maverick who answered. The clock on the corner of the screen, displaying the time on Earth, reflected it was a few hours past midnight.

"What do you want?" Arumat asked shortly, not bothering with greetings as the Earthling blinked once before looking surprised.

"Arumat! I didn't think you'd actually ever answer. Reimi even bet me two hundred Fol you wouldn't," Edge rambled, earning nothing but a trademark glare. Taking the hint, he shook his head and got to the point. "I have a favor to ask."

"Obviously."

Undeterred by the less than interested and abrupt response, Edge began his explanation. "Two days ago, a massive vessel entered warp space en route to Aeos. It was almost saucer shaped and could probably be classed as transportation ship. It was going extremely slow, and portions of it were being broken down, leaving debris in the warp. All the registry information on it was blocked, but it seemed to be of Cardianon origin, and-"

"Cardianon?" Arumat interjected, voice stoic and unaffected as ever. "Were you able to scan it for life signs?"

"No," Edge admitted, "USTA computer terminals don't have that ability. But it came from the outskirts Eldar System. Its dimensions were reminiscent of those of the abandoned Mothership, where most of the Cardianon mutated in cold sleep. The majority of them ended up killing each other, since only a few remained on the two occasions the SRF made direct contact with them. It's very likely it's the same one."

"Don't you Earthlings have any comprehension of how expansive those creatures' organizations were? They could have manufactured a thousand of those in the time before the Grigori were destroyed," Arumat stated bitterly. "They may have been an underdeveloped species a few hundred years ago, but all the data on the planets they previously invaded was deleted."

A brief moment silence passed as Edge's shoulders fell. "S-seriously? Have you gotten that much more information on them?"

"Enough to know they're still a risk if their vessels can be modified to operate on exalithium crystals, or other comparable energy sources," he replied, divulging no unnecessary information. "Is the Earthling government aware of this ship?"

"No, Reimi insisted we keep it a secret…," he paused, somewhat suspicious the older captain was omitting part of the truth. "Why?"

"Earth is too useless and polluted for them to target, so keep it that way. The only underdeveloped society they're a risk to are the ones being built here on Lemuris. It wouldn't take them long if they were based off Aeos. Don't let that grounded government interfere."

It was clear by Edge's expression he didn't dare correcting Arumat on the fact Earth still had one working ship. "Wait, we thought this one was the original that replaced Arcturus VIII. It warped into uncharted space after the SRF's second encounter with them then absorbed into Nox Obscurus."

Arumat to be linked with Nox Obscurus since its disappearance. He also went listened as the explanation continued; Edge mentioned what had turned up seemed into the research they had done and were still doing. He all but instantly determined what caused the Earthling's interest, and futility of the feeble dream, but waited without interjecting until the younger man was done.

"Don't get your hopes up," he said flatly. "It's more than likely a ship full of blood thirsty Cardianon that managed to avoid mutation. Don't you remember their conduct? Invade underdeveloped planets, destroy civilizations, and abuse all the resources until there's nothing left. No one knows how successful they were for the two hundred years the Grigori corrupted them. They were only noticed by other governments because they targeted Lemuria. There was even a Grigori on Aeos," he continued, ignoring the question. "They probably intended to go there after finishing with Lemuria from the start."

Edge's expression was a stubborn frown, making it clear he refused to give up. "How much evidence indicates they're still alive and thriving on some other planet? The likelihood it's the same one was to be high, too."

Only silence ensued, filling the air for a long moment.

"It's been more than half a year," Arumat said dismissively, "If Beleth were still alive, you'd have known months ago. If that brat could repair a Leviathan like that, he'd have done so for the COMs and contacted you. Seeing as he's been branded a traitor in the eyes of the Morphus and Eldarians thanks to the USTA, you'd be the only logical option."

A cold silence ensued his statement. He heard the echo of a soft gasp in this distance and the soft rustle of tree branches. He turned away from the screen momentarily as the sound reached his ears, inwardly deciding to end the conversation as quickly as possible.

"_Traitor?_" Edge echoed, clearly surprised. "That's ridiculous! What could the USTA have to do with _that?_"

_Are those old Earthling fables about blonds being slow correct or is he just an idiot…?_

"Simmer down," he retorted. "I'll look into it as soon as I'm done my current mission. When is it estimated to land?"

"Seven days," he said reluctantly. "But-"

"Alright," he interjected, "I'm still grounded for a few more days. I'll contact you in eight with what I find, but don't expect anything more than a bunch of massacred Cardianon."

"Thanks," Edge replied, although halfheartedly. "Just where _are_ you, though? Can you get to Aeos that quickly?"

"Lemuria. The planets aren't far apart."

Edge, still bothered by the previous comment, refused to let the topic die. "But how could he be help accountable for what the Grigori that possessed him did?" he questioned quietly. "That shouldn't even be common knowledge for the majority of Eldarians or Morphus. What did the USTA _do_?"

Arumat shook his head in response. "Worry about passing the UP3, not a situation that won't be happening."

"But what about-" Edge started.

"Answer when I contact you. Over and out."

"Wai-" the connection was cut before he could finish the word.

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She watched as Arumat turned the device off and put it back in his pocket. He straightened and reached for his scythe, leaning the pole against his shoulder casually, giving him the appearance of a space age grim reaper. She held her breath as he started back toward the campsite and listened to his quickly approaching footsteps, trying to calm her racing heart.

She clutched the staff in her hands tightly, numb fingers matching the coldness of the weapon and the night that hung like a veil over the mountain range. Her mind was reeling; she felt the regret of not paying more attention to all that was happening around her when she had still seen the world through the eyes of a child grow ever heavier. What was _happening?_

After no more than a few minutes, he turned to the right where the path slid between the two sides of the cliff and stopped. He looked down to see Lymle kneeling there, obviously eavesdropping. She jumped to her feet immediately, taking an instinctive step away from him in the process.

Her legs had become stiff from kneeling down so long in the cold and she stumbled slightly as she distanced herself from him. He stared down at her blankly though she returned his piercing gaze stubbornly. Oddly, he looked unsurprised, though rather inconvenienced. She met his gaze evenly, though it was undoubtedly difficult not to become unnerved by the piercing amber eyes.

It felt too much like the only other two or three noteworthy times she'd confronted him directly, without anyone to hide behind or distract; she didn't want to think back to the last time, though the memory of when the group had taken part in the assault on Nox Obscurus. But in the end, it was all because of the same missing person.

"You were talking to Edgie, right?" she asked suspiciously.

"What of it?" he countered, lacking interest in dealing with her. She was a child and he was _not_ a babysitter.

She seemed to hesitate, and when she finally spoke up, she selected her words carefully. "How…is he? Why did he call you?"

"A Cardianon vessel in need of investigation appeared," he replied shortly, walking past her and starting toward the campsite. "It's likely to be a siege and attack. That's the only reason I was contacted."

She frowned and followed him quickly, refusing to let him go without further questioning. She walked quickly, struggling to keep up with him. "Who were you calling a traitor?" her voice nearly cracked when she said the last word. "It sounded serious."

He ignored the question and continued walking. She exhaled exasperatedly and jogged to keep pace with him. "Hey! I wanna know, 'kay?"

"It's nothing of your concern."

"So then what'll it hurt to tell me?" she retorted, still at a distance of at least two feet.

"One of the Eldarians who previously worked under Commander Gaghan was legally classified as a traitor. The information isn't to be divulged to civilians."

She looked up at him, pressing her lips together stubbornly. "I know there's more to it than that, 'kay?"

"Did you learn to eavesdrop from that Oracle or is it considered acceptable in this planet's culture?"

She sighed and crossed her arms. "You were talking about Faize, weren't you? What's happening?"

He stopped suddenly and turned to face her, though his gaze had settled on something above her head. She frowned deeply and stepped back leaning against the tree that protruded unnaturally from the cliff, waiting for him to say something. The soft chirping of crickets in the tall grasses around them was the only noise to disrupt the silence for several moments.

She heard the ominous rustling of branches several feet above her head, though no breeze blew through the valley to disturb them. She turned around quickly and looked up, but was a moment too late. Several thick roots abruptly shot up from the ground with inhuman speed, wrapping around her wrists with a painful snap.

She attempted jerking away as they closed, but only succeeded in making them tighten. She continued to struggle futilely, feeling the circulation to her fingertips lessen all but immediately. Before more roots or branches of the cursed tree had the chance to come to life, Arumat lifted his scythe and in one quick slice, severed the roots.

She fell gracelessly to the ground, landing on her right arm. She grimaced slightly, only hearing the sound of the Eldarian's scythe cutting through the wood of the tree's trunk. She scrambled several feet away as the sharp, glowing blades were thrust into the 'face' that emerged amongst the bark.

_What just __**happened**__…?_

Its expression was distorted into one of agony as its branches drooped as quickly as they had come alive. Her wrists ached painfully, and despite the heavy sleeves of her dress, were bright red where the roots had been wrapped. She blinked momentarily, slightly stunned at the brusqueness of what had just transpired, watching as he stepped back and sap the color of blood leaked from the slice.

The sticky substance that remained on the ex-Thirteenth Independent Armored Division captain's scythe seemed to burn off as the retractable blades returned to their usual form. It emitted small trails of smoke as he straightened and resumed walking wordlessly.

She scowled at his back as she hurried to her feet, dusting the grass and splinters from her clothes. She ran to once again catch up with him, unsure if she should thank him or continue questioning him for more information. She chose the latter option on a whim, but without much hope of an honest answer.

"Please. Tell me what happened, 'kay? Is it about…him?" she paused to run a few feet before falling into step beside him.

"You expect me to know who you're talking about?" he asked flatly.

Inwardly thinking there was no way he didn't know who she was referring to, she hesitantly questioned him on one final matter. "Is…is there a chance Faize is alive?"

There was a pause in conversation as they reached the top of the hill and the campsite where Rose still slept peacefully came into view. Only the faintest glow from a few smoldering embers remained of the fire.

"No," he said shortly.

"You're lying," she insisted, though clearly more to convince herself. "That's what Edgie was worried about, isn't it?"

"Forget about it. Chasing phantoms isn't a matter for children."

She felt the incline of the land dropping as her steps slowed. Her shoulders fell as she finally stopped, watching motionlessly as he continued forward. She reminded herself not to be disappointed - it was impossible to get any information out of him. Nevertheless, her thoughts remained darkly on the dismissive statement. Or, perhaps, dismissive comparison.

She remained unmoving for several moments, memories of the Palace of Creation flooding her mind. She looked up to the sky, expecting to see the endless star ocean, but thick clouds had moved in to hide it from view.

"Phantoms…," she murmured aloud.

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Final Hikari: …If I may say something random, Bacchus' wife scares me.

Edge: I was slightly scared when I learned he _had_ a wife…

Final Hikari: XD Me too. But she creeps me out. -sweat drop- Freesia is the name of my shampoo and a instrumental track by Gackt on my iPod.

Reimi: …Shampoo?

Final Hikari: XD Yes. I buy the .66 cent VO5 stuff. :D It's really cheap when it goes on sale and somehow Gacktesque with the name 'Freesia!'

Edge: That's just a bit creepy.

Final Hikari: Anyway! It's been ages since I worked on Utopia! I took most of July and August off. -brick'd- But I still really, really love writing in Arumat's POV. XD I was going to hold off until he was back in Asgard, but I just wuuuuuuuv writing about him. :D Also, before I get picked on, though I hesitated a few times, I thought it wasn't too out of character for him to have an actual conversation with Edge, since he was all but downright chatty in his last PA of the game. XD

Arumat: …I was never "chatty."

Final Hikari: XD Yes you were, Mr. Toothpick. Also, I didn't pick back up on Chapter IX's cliffhanger in this one. :O Oh noes. Also, despite writing the entire original draft of Utopia on paper, I'm going to try and slow down to make the chapters longer. Things _are_ moving pretty fast, considering where I started, but there's just so much story to tell…and you guys still nothing about the crux the story, the inv--- -mouth is abruptly covered by Reimi-

Reimi: No spoilers.

Final Hikari: -shakes her off- Finally, I honestly had no idea when I made up the name 'Planetary Research Organization' that it abbreviated to PRO. Goes to show how with it I am! XD -nervous laugh-

-crickets chirp-

Final Hikari: …Alright, this disclaimer is too long. See you all in Chapter XI, tentatively titled "If I Were Lying."


End file.
